--- title: PETA President: SeaWorld Orca Tilikum Died for His Freedom description: The subject of the documentary Blackfish, for being held captive for decades in the amusement park and killing three employees, has died canonical: https://time.com/4629357/tilikum-seaworld-blackfish-death/ author: Ingrid Newkirk article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-09T21:59:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T02:37:53.535Z article:section: Ideas og:title: PETA President: Tilikum Died for His Freedom og:description: The 'Blackfish' killer whale deserved a different escape og:url: https://time.com/4629357/tilikum-seaworld-blackfish-death/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c8c0e91f8648ffd/6988b4dfe20a8756f0a93ae6/tilikum-seaworld-blackfish-orca-killer-whale-dawn-brancheau-peta.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Killer Whale That Killed Its Trainer Returns To Show At SeaWorld og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: PETA President: Tilikum Died for His Freedom twitter:description: The 'Blackfish' killer whale deserved a different escape twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c8c0e91f8648ffd/6988b4dfe20a8756f0a93ae6/tilikum-seaworld-blackfish-orca-killer-whale-dawn-brancheau-peta.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # PETA President: Tilikum Died for His Freedom > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=01dbbfed-1be5-4033-b124-67b921dfa6b1&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Ingrid Newkirk](https://time.com/author/ingrid-newkirk/) ## Ingrid Newkirk Jan 9, 2017 9:59 PM UTC  Killer whale "Tilikum" appears during its performance in its show "Believe" at Sea World in Orlando, Florida, on March 30, 2011. Killer whale "Tilikum" appears during its performance in its show "Believe" at Sea World in Orlando, Florida, on March 30, 2011. Gerardo Mora—Getty Images by [Ingrid Newkirk](https://time.com/author/ingrid-newkirk/) ## Ingrid Newkirk Jan 9, 2017 9:59 PM UTC [Tilikum](http://time.com/4625924/seaworld-killer-whale-tilikum-dies/)—an orca who was imprisoned at SeaWorld for nearly three decades and was the “star” of the damning documentary [_Blackfish_](http://time.com/4626436/tilikum-killer-whale-dies-blackfish/)—finally has his freedom. But he shouldn’t have had to die to get it. Caring people worldwide have [urged SeaWorld to release Tilikum](https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2945) and the other orcas languishing in its tiny concrete tanks into coastal sanctuaries, where they could enjoy some semblance of the life that has been stolen from them. But the company has staunchly refused. Instead, it feeds the public lines about “[family](https://seaworldcares.com/killer-whales/)“—but families don’t keep their members in tiny, barren spaces for life and exploit them for decades to make a buck. When Tilikum was just two years old, marine “cowboys,” who kidnap orcas to sell to amusement parks, took him from his real family—his pod—in the open waters off Iceland. For the rest of his life, he was forced to live in tiny tanks and cramped enclosures, unable to use his echolocation, hear or see his relatives, swim long distances or do anything that resembled living naturally. He was trained to eat what he was given and to do what he was told. He was also trained to roll over—so that marine park workers could [masturbate him](http://www.businessinsider.com/tilikum-breeding-at-seaworld-2013-11) with a gloved hand and collect his semen in a container. [SeaWorld](http://time.com/3987998/seaworlds-profits-drop-84-after-blackfish-documentary/) used him as its chief sperm-producing machine, churning out more performers through artificial insemination. The company’s announcement that it would end its orca-breeding program came too late for Tilikum, who was bred 21 times. Eleven of his offspring died before he did. He was kept in tanks with no escape from aggressive, incompatible orcas, who often left him torn up and bloodied. The constant stress and deprivation drove him to lash out. He killed three humans—including trainer [Dawn Brancheau](http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1968071,00.html) in 2010—and wore down his teeth to nubs by gnawing on the underwater bars of his prison. Confined to an enclosure that was, to him, the size of a bathtub, he slowly lost his mind. Finally, his body gave out as well. Tilikum died in an artificial environment where he did not belong. He never again felt the waves and tides or knew the joy of swimming with his family and exploring the vast ocean. His miserable life is over, but there’s still a chance for the other animals trapped at SeaWorld—including his ten surviving offspring. The company can and must immediately begin a plan to rehabilitate and return all the orcas, beluga whales, bottlenose dolphins, sea lions, walruses, penguins and others back to nature or release them into coastal sanctuaries. 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