Last week, 40-year-old Dawn Brancheau was killed in a work-related accident that many would argue was bound to happen given the circumstances of her job, a large majority of which involves being under water without scuba gear.
She was also required to work with “coworkers” who could be considered deadly – the one who killed her weighed 12,000 pounds. Brancheau was a trainer at Sea World in Orlando. She specialized in working with Killer Whales and was one of about a dozen trainers allowed to work with Tilikum, a 30-year-old whale with past involvement in the deaths of at least two other people.
It’s hard to feel sorry for people like Brancheau who risk their lives day after day working with these giants of the sea.
On one hand, she knew the risks involved and despite every safety precaution taken, one would have to imagine that deep in her mind she had to know that this was a possibility; after all, Tilikum had killed before.
On the other hand, one could argue that people like Brancheau are needed so that the public can be educated about animals such as the Orca.
The problem is that a majority of visitors to parks like Sea World only come to be entertained and not so much to be educated.
Ask 10 random people leaving the gate at Sea World what they learned about the whales and the majority will probably talk about how high Shamu jumped.
Education also doesn’t seem to play a major factor when you consider the price of admission to these parks.
Still, education plays some part in the quality of entertainment offered and people like Brancheau do a job that many of us would never consider.
She died doing what she loved to do. How many of us can say that?
1 comments