Kelty Byrne, a Canadian animal trainer who worked on Pacific Sealand, died in a horrific accident while working in a pool with orcas.
Pacific Sealand has been a tourist attraction for 23 years, with its main attraction being orca whales, also known as “killer whales”.
However, this all ended in 1992 when the public aquarium closed after a horrific accident that led to the death of Kelty Byrne.
What happened to Kelty Byrne?
The accident occurred on February 20, 1991 while Kelly was working a shift in Pacific Sealand, unaware that it would be her last. The 20-year-old crept into the pool of three orcas, and although she tried to pull herself back up, one of the whales put her back in the water.
Since whales were not used to having anything in the water with them, they treated this as a game by dragging the Keltie into the water over and over. As this was happening, onlookers at the attraction saw the event unfold before their eyes.
One witness remembers Keelty saying, “I don’t want to die,” with others claiming to have heard her screaming for help every time she reached the surface of the pond.
Although the trainers at Pacific Sealand tried to help the kelti, they were no match for the three orcas, and despite being strong swimmers, the young woman eventually drowned in the pond. It took two hours before her body was pulled out of the water, as it turned out that she had bruises and bites all over her body.
What happened to orca whales?
The three whales involved in the accident were known as Tilikum, Nootka and Haida.
After Keltie Byrne’s death, Tillikum and Nootka were sold to SeaWorld Orlando, while Haida was sold to SeaWorld San Antonio. Today, Tillikum is still a well-known male of the orca, which was a huge attraction at SeaWorld and was loved by all the coaches who worked there.
However, unfortunately, Celti was not the only victim of Tillikum, as the orca also killed two other people in the American park. One of those victims was SeaWorld coach, Dawn Brancheau.
Dawn has reportedly had a great relationship with Tillikum, as Seaworld’s Senior Instructor John Hargrove commented, “He had a great relationship with her, and she’d had a great relationship with him. I think he loved her, and I know she loved him.”
After Dawn’s death, Tillikum was rarely used in performances in the garden, and would spend hours lying on the pool deck. The male orca died on January 6, 2017, after suffering a lung infection.
The orca controversy
The deaths of both Keltie and Dawn have sparked controversy over orcas being held in captivity and whale exploitation.
Many people believe they were driven to aggression after being held for many years in such small environments. In fact, it was found that while Tilikum was in Sealand, he was living in a pond measuring 100 by 50 feet and only 35 feet deep.
Not only will this cause orcas to become aggressive, but according to The Mirror, Sealand whales are made to perform eight times a day, seven days a week.
Since the incident, a documentary called Blackfish has been released to tell the story of Tilikum, with director Gabriella Cooperthwaite hoping the footage would help viewers understand the dangers of keeping orcas captive to human entertainment.
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