Keltie Lee Byrne
| Keltie Lee Byrne | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 6, 1970 Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| 💀Died | February 20, 1991 (aged 20) Sealand of the Pacific, Victoria, British Columbia, CanadaFebruary 20, 1991 (aged 20) |
| Cause of death | Drowning caused by forcible submersion by orca (killer whales) |
| 🏫 Education | University of Victoria |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Twitter= | |
Keltie Byrne (December 6, 1970 – February 20, 1991) was a Canadian student, animal trainer and competitive swimmer. She had been working at the Canadian theme park Sealand of the Pacific as a trainer when she drowned in 1991, after she slipped and was forcibly submerged into a pool of enclosed water by a group of orca whales.
The incident became notable after it resurfaced due to the 2010 death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau and the 2013 documentary Blackfish, when it was revealed that orca whale Tilikum had killed Byrne before later killing Daniel P. Dukes (a vagrant who attempted to interact with the whale) and later Brancheau; the two deaths occurred after Tilikum had been sold by then-defunct Sealand of the Pacific to SeaWorld's parks in the United States.[1]
Early life[edit]
Keltie Lee Byrne was born in Calgary, Alberta on December 6, 1970.[2] She often worked with animals in her adolescence. Byrne was an Environmental Studies student at the University of Victoria, as well as a successful competitive swimmer.[3][4] Byrne had been working with orca whales Tilikum, Nootka IV, and Haida II at Sealand of the Pacific to earn extra money.[5]
Death[edit]
On February 20, 1991, Keltie Byrne was working a shift at Sealand of the Pacific when she slipped and fell into the whale pool. Sisters Corrine Cowell and Nadine Kallen, both Canadian tourists attending the theme park at the time of the incident, were witnesses to the unfolding events, recalling that Byrne screamed and panicked after realizing that one of the whales (later identified as Tilikum) was holding the girl's foot and dragging her underwater.[6] Corrine Cowell recalled the theme park as looking unkempt, like a "gray theme park on its last legs, a kind of dingy swimming pool", and claimed to have heard Byrne screaming "I don't want to die!" while her eyes went wide in the water.[7] According to the official coroner's report, rescue attempts were thwarted by the whales, who refused to let Byrne go even after she was believed to have fallen unconscious in the water. Her corpse was later retrieved from the three whales by use of a large net, after which she was determined to be deceased and removed from the theme park. Her death was ruled an accident.[2][8]
Aftermath[edit]
Sealand of the Pacific went defunct in 1992, largely as a result of the death of Keltie Byrne and allegations surfacing of physical and mental abuse of the whales in the park. Witness Nadine Kallen had briefly suggested that a memorial for Byrne should be established at the site of the former park; no memorial was ever constructed.[9] Orca whale Tilikum was sold to the United States's SeaWorld theme park chain for performance shows and breeding. The whale's semen was collected and used for artificial insemination to breed a number of captive orcas for SeaWorld's shows and also for its sister park, Loro Parque in Spain.
Tilikum became an infamous whale after attacking and killing his trainer, forty-year-old SeaWorld staff member Dawn Brancheau. Tilikum grabbed her arm, scalped the woman, fractured her jaw and killed her by blunt force trauma, the result of which was a contentious and controversial legal case over the safety of working with orca whales and the ethics of keeping live whales and other marine mammals in captivity.[10][11][12] As this case unfolded, the story of Keltie Byrne's death in Canada resurfaced when it was discovered that Tilikum had been one of the whales that had drowned her at Sealand of the Pacific. Keltie Byrne's case was later covered extensively in the 2013 documentary Blackfish, where it was revealed that it is still unclear exactly what drove Tilikum and the other whales to attack Byrne in 1991. Blackfish suggested that years of abuse and cruelty towards Tilikum, including the act of allowing the other whales to "rake" Tikilum's skin with their teeth until he bled, had made him an aggressive whale. Steve Huxter, head of animal training at Sealand at the time, said "They never had a plaything in the pool that was so interactive. They just got incredibly excited and stimulated."[13] No official motive of the three whales has ever been established, as the case was over twenty years old by the time it resurfaced in relation to the death of Dawn Brancheau.
Tilikum has since died at SeaWorld. Keltie Byrne was interred by her immediate family, and buried at Evergreen Memorial Gardens's "Garden of Everlasting Life" plot section.[14][15]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ Fisher, Gavin. "Tilikum's former trainer says dying orca was once 'gentle, passive'". www.cbc.ca. CBC News. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Messier, Dianne. "Verdict of Coroner's Inquest" (PDF). theorcaproject.files.wordpress.com. The Orca Project. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ↑ McNeill, Harold. "Sealand of the Pacific – Death in the Whale Pool". www.mcneillifestories.com. Life Stories. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ↑ Blackfish (documentary). Magnolia Pictures. 2013.
- ↑ Lavender, Jane. "Three SeaWorld orcas 'driven mad by captivity' ganged up to kill student, 20, in horrifying attack". www.mirror.co.uk. Mirror UK. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ↑ Kuo, Vivian. "Orca trainer saw best of Keiko, worst of Tilikum". www.cnn.com. CNN News. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ↑ Blackfish (documentary). Magnolia Pictures. 2013.
- ↑ "The Death of Keltie Byrne". www.teenink.com. TeenInk.
- ↑ Blackfish (documentary). Magnolia Pictures. 2013.
- ↑ Garcia, Jason. "Blackstone chief blames Brancheau for own death, contradicting Seaworld". www.orlandosentinel.com. Olando Sentinel. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ↑ Mooney, Mark. "SeaWorld Trainer Killed by Whale Had Fractured Jaw and Dislocated Joints". abcnews.go.com. ABC News. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ↑ "'The Killer in the Pool': A Story that Started a Movement". Outside Online. 2010-07-30. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- ↑ Bellotti, Alex. "'Psychotic' life of SeaWorld orca Tilikum - 'forced drugs', bullied and deadly games". www.mirror.co.uk. Mirror UK. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ↑ "Keltie Lee Byrne". www.findagrave.com. Find A Grave. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ↑ Rummel, Sally. "Whale that killed Dawn Brancheau dies at SeaWorld". www.tctimes.com. Tri-County Times. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
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