SeaWorld says killer whale Tilikum is seriously ill

ORLANDO, Fla. – Tilikum, SeaWorld’s killer whale that battered and drowned an Orlando trainer in 2010, is in declining health with what appears to be a serious bacterial lung infection.

Tilikum has been increasingly lethargic over the past few weeks, SeaWorld said on its blog.

“I wish I could say I was tremendously optimistic about Tilikum and his future, but he has a disease which is chronic and progressive and at some point might cause his death,” SeaWorld veterinarian Scott Gearhart says on a video.

Tilikum came to SeaWorld 23 years ago from Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia. He is estimated to be 35 years old.

After Tilikum killed trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010, his life became the focus of the 2013 documentary “Blackfish.” That movie suggested the stress of his captivity made him lash out and kill Brancheau. Since that movie, SeaWorld has lost corporate sponsorships and attendance has declined.

Tilikum had been involved in two other human deaths: the 1991 drowning of a Sealand trainer and the 1999 drowning of a man who sneaked into SeaWorld Orlando’s whale enclosure after the park had closed.