Killer Whale that Drowned Trainer Returns to SeaWorld Show

Tilikum has been linked to at least three deaths since 1991.

Do not get too close to the pool. Trainers at Orlando’s SeaWorld were separated from the killer whale enclosure Wednesday by a new steel bar as an orca named Tilikum made his first public performance since being involved in a deadly incident last year. On Feb. 24, 2010, the animal dragged trainer Dawn Brancheau to her death after her ponytail got caught in the whale’s mouth. Remarkably, Tilikum has been linked to two other deaths. He is one of three whales blamed for killing a trainer at Sealand of the Pacific near Victoria, B.C., in 1991, and a man who snuck past security at Orlando's SeaWorld in 1999 was found dead in Tilikum’s pool. The animal performed without incident on Wednesday.