Essay: SeaWorld – Tilikum Incident / Crisis Communication Theory

SeaWorld is a chain of marine animal theme parks with three locations throughout the United States. The first SeaWorld park was opened on March 21, 1964 in San Diego, California. They later opened locations in Aurora, Ohio, Orlando, Florida, and San Antonio, Texas. They plan to build a park outside of the USA in the Middle East, but there are no detailed plans for a location or timeline on that park yet. Their theme parks are famous for hosting aquatic shows featuring animals including killer whales, sea lions, and dolphins. Animal trainers swim with these animals during the shows and showcase the many tricks they can perform on command. In addition to the shows and aquariums on display, guests can ride roller coasters and water rides at SeaWorld.
SeaWorld’s  main attraction is its killer whales that perform in a massive 5.8-million-gallon tank called Shamu Stadium. The first killer whale brought to SeaWorld San Diego was named Shamu, which is now used as a stage name for all of the killer whales that perform at SeaWorld.
Situation Analysis
On February 24, 2010, killer whale trainer Dawn Brancheau performed in a show at SeaWorld Orlando called Dine with Shamu featuring one of the largest killer whales named Tilikum. During this show, guests ate at an open-air restaurant while Branchaeu swam with Tilikum in a poolside performance. Towards the end of the show, Brancheau was lying with her face near Tilikum on a platform that was submerged a foot deep into the pool. The orca quickly yanked her into the pool and at least a dozen patrons witnessed this horrible act as she was mauled in the water by the whale. Employees attempted to distract Tilikum in the water so that he would release the trainer and they guided him into a medical pool where he could be calmed more easily. He eventually released Bracheau’s fragmented body. Autopsy reports state that she died from blunt force trauma combined with drowning.
By looking at the history of these animals, it is apparent that many prodromes were present leading up to this crisis. Captive killer whales have a history of being aggressive. In August 1989, a female killer whale named Kandu V attempted to kill a newcomer whale during a live show. In November 2006, another female killer whale by the name of Kasatka dragged trainer Ken Peters to the bottom of a pool during a show because she heard her calf cry in another pool behind the stadium. These events alone should have warned SeaWorld that killer whales are unpredictable and not safe to interact with humans, especially with an audience watching. However, before 2010, Tilikum already had several incidents tied to his name. In 1992, he was at Sealand in British Columbia and was blamed for drowning one of his trainers. Then he was sold to SeaWorld and was involved in an incident in 1999 where a homeless man’s dead body was found laid across Tilikum’s back.
Target Audience
SeaWorld’s enabling publics would include the CEO of the company, law enforcement officers, their crisis management team, and emergency coordinators. The functional publics include SeaWorld’s managers, their employees, guests to the park, and contracted workers in the park. The normative publics include competing theme parks such as Universal and Disney World along with SeaWorld’s shareholders, delivery companies, and hospitals that could be affected by a crisis. The diffused publics include media outlets, surrounding neighborhoods, leaders of Orlando, and surrounding businesses.
Crisis Communication Theory
Thad Lacinak, the former head of animal training at SeaWorld Orlando who trained Brancheau, noted that Brancheau’s ponytail dangling in the water most likely intriguied Tilikum to investigate what it was. He said Brancheau was a good trainer, but she made the mistake of lying down near the orca and letting her ponytail brush near his nose. This sounds like blame or scapegoating. By stating that it was Brancheau’s fault for letting her hair drift near Tilikum, he is forcing blame upon the trainer. Why didn’t SeaWorld have a policy for their employees to wear swim caps? These comments by Lacinak make it sound like the trainer should have known better than to let her hair be near the whale, while it is obvious that other female trainers have worn their hair in ponytails too and it was never an issue.
This is also an example of the excuse crisis communication theory. Even SeaWorld Orlando’s president, Dan Brown, did not immediately correct the statement from a sheriff spokesperson who claimed Brancheau had accidently fallen into the pool with Tilikum. Brown also only said that she “drowned in an incident with one of our killer whales.” These excuses should have been unacceptable and stated differently by SeaWorld’s representatives in order to clarify that this crisis was a serious incident and they were very sorry for the loss of Dawn Brancheau.
Key Messages
Jim Atchison, SeaWorld’s president, conducted a press conference on February 26, 2010, to update the public about how Tilikum would be dealt with and how the parks would handle the whales moving forward. He announced that Tilikum would not be punished for this incident, all direct killer whale interactions in shows were suspended after the incident, and that killer whale show “Believe” would continue the following day at all three parks with trainers not in the water. He grazed over the details of how they would ensure the safety of their trainers, only mentioning that they would not put their trainers in the water again until they made changes that they felt would keep their trainers safe.
In this press conference, Atchison lacked a great deal of compassion, which was much needed in this crisis. His constant reading off a piece of paper without looking up and connecting with the audience showed that he didn’t care about the situation at hand. He read a message from Brancheau’s family asking for privacy and space while they mourn the loss of Dawn, but they way he conveyed their messaged was dry and not heartfelt at all. While I think it was important for the president of the company to represent SeaWorld in this crisis, I also think he should have had an expert in animal training present to give credibility to the statements about Tilikum. This would have helped justify why and how they acted. At the end of the press conference, Atchison mentioned that the trainers at SeaWorld were like a family and that they are grieving the loss of Dawn Brancheau, but while he stated this he laughed a little at himself, which I found entirely inappropriate. It is not a funny matter when you’re speaking about an employee that was tragically murdered by an animal.
During this press conference, it’s also notable that Atchison was standing in front of a tank of live whales playing with each other, excluding Tilikum. I’m not sure who had the idea of using this setting, but to me it seemed like they were trying to show that killer whales are friendly and playful even though one of them had just killed a trainer. It would have been better if the president had been standing in front of a plain wall so that he and his message was the focus of the conference, not the cute whales.
Recovery
SeaWorld’s reputation was definitely damaged after this incident. A documentary about Tilikum called Blackfish was released in 2013 to tell the story of this whale and the multiple attacks he caused upon trainers. The documentary was picked up by CNN and it can be viewed on Netflix, which increased viewership and educated millions about the truth behind SeaWorld. SeaWorld stated that they suffered a $15.9 million loss when Blackfish aired, but Atchison said that was because of high ticket prices and poor weather conditions. Following the success of the documentary, the SeaWorld president resigned in 2014.
In August 2015, SeaWorld announced that they dropped 3% in revenue and 84% in net income for the second quarter of 2015. Their attendance also dropped by 1.6%. In November 2015, SeaWorld announced that they planned to end all of the killer whale shows at SeaWorld San Diego and then announced in March 2016 that they would be ending all orca breeding and slowly phase out all of the live shows that used orcas.
I think SeaWorld learned that no matter how hard they tried to cover up the reality of the dangers behind their business, the public would eventually find out. Their decision to end the orca shows display how serious they must have realized the public would disapprove of their business.
Suggestions
If I had been on SeaWorld’s crisis team for this incident, I would have done many things differently. First of all, I would have made it clear that the trainer was not at fault for what happened. SeaWorld constantly blamed Brancheau for letting her hair sweep next to the whale, but I think that was a very poor excuse. By not blaming the animal who attacked the trainer, SeaWorld looked irresponsible. I also thought it was odd that SeaWorld constantly praised the high quality of trainers they hire, yet they claimed Brancheau was at fault for her ultimate death.
I also would have used more credible sources for the explanation of SeaWorld’s decision to keep Tilikum despite his behavior in the past. They also should have been more apologetic and addressed how sad they were to lose an amazing team member.