ORLANDO, Fla.,None — New information came out Tuesday on the death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau as the theme park fights federal fines for the incident that killed her.
A fellow trainer testified Tuesday that Tilikum the whale could become aggressively possessive of objects and possibly people, and WFTV learned about conflicting stories of how the whale attacked Brancheau.
SeaWorld security guard Freddy Herrera said the killer whale grabbed Brancheau's left arm and pulled her into the water, meaning it could have happened to anybody.
However, SeaWorld attorneys shifted the blame to Brancheau on Tuesday, saying her long ponytail tempted the whale to grab a hold of her.
Fifteen minutes of home video were played in court on Tuesday. The last minute of the video, when Brancheau was pulled into the water, was not played.
Herrera said Brancheau was lying down in some water on a ledge right before the animal grabbed her arm.
SeaWorld has always maintained that Tilikum grabbed Brancheau by her long ponytail and that is what sparked his behavior. Colleen Gorman, a Brancheau supporter, was in the courtroom Tuesday; she wants SeaWorld to get rid of Tilikum.
"SeaWorld was lying to the public about what happened to Dawn Brancheau that day," Gorman said.
Later on Tuesday, a SeaWorld trainer testified that Tilikum was possessive and had a hard time returning any objects in the pool. OSHA asked if that included people. The trainer said that could be a possibility.
She also mentioned that if trainers got into the water, there was a possibility they would not survive. The federal job safety agency says the theme park exposes its trainers to harm by allowing them to have direct physical contact with the whale.
SeaWorld attorneys argued that the animal trainers learn about animal behaviors and can see cues when the whale is about to become aggressive.
WFTV
