One has to look at such stories in context. My colleague Dr Margaret Klinowska a well know cetacean biologist made the very good point that for every person pushed ashore and 'rescued' by dolphins there is likely to be quite few pushed out to sea and drowned and by that very nature their story is never told as they are dead
It's sad that someone died but it sounds like a drowning accident. Orcas are of course very large animals and I think the comparison to working with animals such as elephants is appropriate.
I have to point out that there have been reports of both dolphin and orcas inactions with people both in captivity and the wild that could be considered aggressive. The whole idea that these animals are benign is a myth. They are much the same in there behaviour as any other large mammal and should be treated with respect and caution.
Ironically the incident at Loro Park has yet to be reported in the English speaking media aside from a mention on PETA's web site. Which, of course, uses it as an anti-captive diatribe regarding captive orcas being wild caught etc. without mentioning that all the orcas at Loro Park are captive bred. But what else would you expect from PETA: never let the truth get in the way of good bit of propaganda
The PETA Files: Whale Trainer Dies During Rehearsal
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