Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Statement on Captive Orcas & the Trainer Killed at Sea World

Jean-Michel Cousteau comments on the tragedy on February 24th, 2010, when trainer Dawn Brancheau was dragged into the water and killed by Tilikum, an orca at Sea World’s Orlando park. This is the third death associated with Tilikum while in captivity. The tragic death of the trainer suggests that maybe we have outgrown the need to keep such wild, enormous, complex, intelligent and free-ranging animals in captivity, where their behavior is not only unnatural, it can become pathological.