The chilling final words of a trainer before she was ripped apart by a ‘psychotic’ trio of killer whales have been revealed.
Marine biology student Keltie Byrne worked part-time at Sealand of the Pacific in Canada in 1991.
On one fateful day, the trainer slipped, falling into a 26-foot pool with two female killer whales and the infamous ‘serial killer’ whale Tilikum, marking the beginning of the creature’s controversial reputation.
Tilikum’s captivity, events in his life, and the 2013 documentary Blackfish sparked controversy and a deeper look into the male whale’s life and what led him to kill three people.
Captured off the coast of Iceland in 1983, the killer whale was put into a concrete holding tank at Hafnarfjördur Marine Zoo near Reykjavíc at two years old.
The creature was shipped off to Sealand in 1984, spending 14 years in a 26-foot pool with the two female orcas, Haida II and Nootka IV.
Following the tragic death of Bryne, Sealand closed its doors for good – all orcas were sold to SeaWorld Florida.
Tilikum, weighing around 12,000 pounds, was used as a male breeder and starred in The Shamu Show, which millions of people visited.
