The horrifying moment a huge orca leaped out of the water to body-slam a SeaWorld trainer has resurfaced online.
In the disturbing clip, which has been reposted on X (formally Twitter), Orky - a 12,000-pound male orca - can be seen crushing SeaWorld trainer John Sillick.
Sillick was propelled under the weight of the orca as a terrified crowd looked on in utter shock. Take a look:
Sillick had been riding female killer whale, Corky, as part of a trick in the San Diego park.
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The tricks he performed to excited onlookers were rather impressive, as he dived off Corky's nose in midair.
But when Sillick was reverse-riding Corky while clutching her dorsal fin, tragedy struck. Orky leaped out of the water and slammed on top of Sillick and Corky, submerging all of them into the water.
Thankfully, Sillick survived the terrible ordeal, though he did nearly lose his life after being attacked by the orca.
For his troubles, he was left with a fractured pelvis, femur and ribs and was left in a wheelchair following the November 1987 incident.
In a Los Angeles Times article back in December 1987, animal behaviourist and marine mammal trainer Karen Pryor suggested that Orky must have been angry or even jealous to act the way he did.
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"You need to be able to read your animals, to see if anything is bothering them," she told the outlet.
"Killer whales, if they get angry, the white of the eye turns red. You never want them to get that angry."
Sadly, this wasn't an isolated incident and after several terrifying close calls between trainers and the orcas, in 2010 Dawn Brancheau was killed by an orca named Tilikum when he dragged her beneath the water.
Following this tragic incident, SeaWorld insisted that trainers stop riding the whales and stay out of the water all together after the incident.
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They also stopped holding such shows to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
A SeaWorld spokesperson previously said: "Trainers have not been in the water training or performing with killer whales at SeaWorld since 2012.
"Our hundreds of veterinarians and care specialists provide world-class medical care.
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"None of the killer whales in our care live a solitary life and they participate in positive reinforcement sessions daily, engaging in a range of different activities to ensure they receive plenty of physical and mental exercise.
"Additionally, the study of orcas in our care by our scientists and third-party organisations has directly informed the world’s knowledge of and ability to protect whales in the wild."
Topics: News, Animals, World News, US News