Orca that really is a killer whale

BLACKFISH, a documentary-style murder mystery, opens in cinemas this month.

Its focus is Tilikum, a killer whale captured off Iceland in 1983 and kept at marine parks in North America ever since. In 1991, Tilikum and two older females were at a park near Victoria in Canada when trainer Keltie Byrne entered their pool. It was the first time anyone had been in the water with them. The two older orcas seized Keltie and tossed her back and forth between them. Tilikum joined in. The unfortunate trainer drowned.

Tilikum was moved to Seaworld, Orlando, where he grew to be the largest whale in captivity. Keepers there never swam with him. On the morning of Jul 6, 1999, the naked body of 27-year-old Daniel Dukes was found draped over Tilikum’s back. The victim had sustained multiple injuries. Drowning and hypothermia were the causes of death. It’s thought that Dukes hid in the park at closing time and entered the whale pool during the night.