Current mood:sick

NOVEMBER 30, 2006 - SEAWORLD TRAINER HURT IN WHALE ATTACK
Allison Hoffman, The Associated Press
SAN DIEGO - A killer whale that dragged a trainer underwater during a show at SeaWorld Adventure Park, breaking his foot, may be allowed to perform again, park officials said Thursday. "Animals who have been involved in incidents like this in the past have been allowed to continue performing," SeaWorld San Diego spokesman Dave Koontz said. Park trainers were examining the whale, a female orca named Kasatka, and trying to determine what made her grab her trainer, Ken Peters, Koontz said. Peters, 39, remained hospitalized with a broken foot after the whale grabbed him and twice held him underwater during a show. He had a fractured metatarsal in his left foot but was in good spirits, Koontz said. Peters was hurt around 5 p.m. Wednesday during the final show of the day at Shamu Stadium, a 36-foot-deep tank. The show's finale called for Kasatka to shoot out of the water so Peters could dive off her nose. The whale is about 17 feet long and weighs well over 5,000 pounds. As several hundred spectators watched, the whale and trainer plunged underwater, where Kasatka grabbed Peters by the foot and held him for less than a minute before surfacing, Koontz said. "The trainer was being pinned by the whale at the bottom of the pool," Karen Ingrande told KGTV-TV. When they came up, Peters tried to calm the animal by rubbing and stroking its back but it grabbed him and plunged down again for about another minute. The crowd "began to realize there was not something right and the whale was down again under the water. Again they were splashing the water to try to get the whale to come to the surface," Ingrande said. The whale finally released him and Peters was able to surface and swim away. Other trainers stretched a net between him and Kasatka, Koontz said. He emerged from the tank with one leg of his wet suit torn. "He tried to stand up on the stage and that's when we realized there was something wrong with his leg and his foot. He was just white as a ghost," spectator Sherri Justice told KFMB-TV in San Diego. Mike Scarpuzzi, who oversees zoological operations, said Peters has been working with animals for 16 years, including 12 spent at Shamu Stadium. "His skills and techniques, and close relationship with the whale played a major role in helping the animal calm down and allowed him to eventually swim out of the pool," Scarpuzzi said. The park planned to continue the Shamu Stadium shows Thursday using other whales. The park has a total of seven killer whales, including two of Kasatka's offspring, Koontz said. He did not know whether Kasatka would be allowed to perform. Koontz said trainers from the San Diego park and sister parks in San Antonio and Orlando, Fla., planned to confer Thursday and review the incident in an effort to figure out what made the orca grab Peters. Koontz said the 30-year-old orca had been performing most of her life and was familiar with the routine. "She's been one of our strongest, most consistent performers," he said. Koontz said a different whale dived with a trainer's foot in its mouth two or three weeks ago but obeyed commands to release the trainer and return to the side of the tank. The trainer was not injured. SeaWorld officials reported in 1999 that Kasatka tried to bite a trainer during a show, but he was unhurt.

See CBS 2 News footage of the incident here and news footage from NBC's Today Show here.

NOVEMBER 30, 2006 - PARK'S KILLER WHALE ALMOST LIVES UP TO NAME
CNN.com
SAN DIEGO, California - A killer whale at the Sea World theme park grabbed a trainer by the foot and held him underwater during a show Wednesday. The trainer escaped and was in good condition later, park officials said. Kasatka, a 30-year-old killer whale who is a veteran of many performances, grabbed the trainer and pulled him underwater, said Mike Scarpuzzi, head trainer at Sea World. Other trainers were able to persuade the whale to surface, allowing the trainer a breath of air, but enacted emergency procedures in place for such instances, Scarpuzzi said. The other trainers got a net in the pool, and the trainer, who also has years of experience, was able to calm the whale, swim to the other side of the net and get out of the pool, he said. (Watch paramedics work poolside) The San Diego Fire Department received a call that the 33-year-old whale trainer was pinned at the bottom of the tank by a whale, said dispatcher Julianna Humphries. The caller said other trainers were attempting to retrieve the man. Scarpuzzi said there have been no previous serious incidents with Kasatka. "She has not done this particular unwanted behavior to this extent," Scarpuzzi said. "She has displayed unwanted behavior to some extent. ... There are times like this. They are killer whales. She did choose to demonstrate her feelings in a way that was unfortunate." Scarpuzzi said he was dismayed that park guests had to witness the incident, which occurred in late afternoon during the "Believe" show. The trainer was taken to a hospital, where officials reported he was in good condition. "That's the good news we were hoping for," Scarpuzzi said. He declined to identify the trainer, saying he wanted to make sure his family had been notified of the incident, but said the man had 16 years of training experience, including 12 years with Kasatka. He said it had not been decided whether Kasatka will perform Thursday. The park has seven whales and rotate them for performances, he said. Trainers are strong swimmers and taught to develop communication and relationship skills with the whales, he said. Using those skills, he said, the trainer was able to calm the whale and end the incident. "It turned out exactly the way we would want it if something like this were to ever happen."

See Mike Scarpuzzi's interview with the press here. Although no name has been given yet, it's believed that the trainer involved was Ken "Pete" Peters.