How Dawn Brancheau, a SeaWorld trainer, died in the jaws of a killer whale.

Dawn Brancheau spent many years working at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. During her tenure there, she became a well-liked trainer, and her shows with world-famous orcas brought in millions of dollars. But on February 24, 2010, she was slain in an unprovoked attack by one of the orcas she adored.

Brancheau’s death forever transformed the way theme parks treat wild sea animals, and was the subject of the award-winning documentary Blackfish.This is Dawn Brancheau's terrible true story.

Born Dawn Therese LoVerde and raised in Indiana, Brancheau determined early on that she was going to work with orcas. She first saw Shamu, possibly the most infamous killer whale in captivity, when she was 10 years old and her parents took her to SeaWorld in Orlando for a vacation.

Nevertheless, before embarking on the path that would bring her to her dream profession, she earned a dual degree in psychology and animal behavior from the University of South Carolina. She began working with otters and sea lions at Six Flags theme parks in 1994, before moving on to SeaWorld in 1996. That same year, she married Scott Brancheau, a stunt skier at SeaWorld, and began working with the orcas she adored.

Dawn Brancheau quickly rose to prominence as the face of SeaWorld. Her image was splashed on billboards and commercials, and she was key in modernizing the Shamu performance. Brancheau was regularly teamed with orcas and would perform numerous feats with and alongside them for many years.

Although Brancheau was fully aware of the risks associated with working with orcas, she also understood that orcas do not attack humans in the wild, and attacks on humans in captivity are extremely rare.

Regrettably, the unexpected happened on February 24, 2010.

Dawn Brancheau's Horrible Death

Dawn Brancheau had a "tight bond" with Tilikum, a SeaWorld orca. He had a wonderful relationship with her, and she had a wonderful relationship with him. They were basically head over heels in love.

Regrettably, love was insufficient to save her. Tilikum and Brancheau were performing at SeaWorld's "Dining with Shamu" event on the day in question, when guests enjoyed open-air eating with a live killer whale show.

Witnesses testified that Tilikum grabbed her ponytail, pulled her into the pull, and began swinging her underwater in his mouth. Some witnesses, however, reported she was dragged into the pool by her arm or shoulder.

Regardless of which part of Brancheu Tilikum grabbed, the trainer was dragged into the pool rapidly and viciously, drowning her.

Worst yet, the whale's jerking motions shattered Brancheau's jaw, dislocated her ear, knee, and arm, and snapped her vertebrae and ribs. Brancheau's spinal cord was cut in the attack, and her scalp was totally torn from her skull, according to the coroner.

Dawn Brancheau died when she was only 40 years old.

Aftermath

No SeaWorld trainer entered a pool with orcas again after Dawn Brancheau's unfortunate accident. Shortly after she was buried, SeaWorld imposed a moratorium, which was later made permanent by OSHA. For years, the federal workplace safety agency had tried in vain to compel SeaWorld to follow more stringent rules.

The documentary Blackfish was released in 2013. The film, which was largely focused on Dawn Brancheau's death, also shed light on the perilous conditions that orcas in captivity suffer.

In addition to winning multiple prizes, Blackfish sparked a nationwide debate over conservation and captivity, and it was credited with SeaWorld's "recalibration" of how it handles its creatures.

SeaWorld declared in 2016 that it would no longer breed orcas in captivity, and many of the park's orca-themed theatrical acts have since been discontinued or eliminated.

The few remaining orca demonstrations are more like their natural behavior in the Pacific Northwest, where orcas are generally found in the wild and no human-orca interaction is permitted.

SeaWorld has also vowed not to accept orcas captured in captivity, instead focusing on conservation and rehabilitation of the orcas in their care.