Oklahoma Aquarium Experts React To News Of Killer Whale Attack

By Chris Wright, The News On 6

JENKS, OK -- An employee at SeaWorld Orlando died after being attacked by a killer whale on Wednesday.

Park guest Victoria Biniak told WKMG-TV that the trainer had just finished explaining to the audience the show they were about to see. Biniak told the station the whale suddenly came up from the water, grabbed the trainer around the waist and "thrashed her all around" in the water. She could not be revived.

Green Country marine biologists say attacks like the one in Orlando, Florida where a trainer was killed in an attack by a killer whale are always a reality check for them.

These incidents are extremely rare, but professionals who deal with dangerous animals daily say they are always wary of them.

For workers at the Oklahoma Aquarium, news of the killer whale trainer's death was sobering. While the majority of the aquatic life on display here is harmless, some species are dangerous.

"The fact is we work with wild animals, and there's a certain amount beyond our control. We can take safeguards, but it's never 100%," said Kenny Alexopoulos of the Oklahoma Aquarium.

Kenny Alexopoulos has been with the aquarium since it opened. His duties include taking care of some of the less friendly fish.

While there are no whales here at the aquarium, the concern is the dangerous bull shark. The aquarium is actually home to the largest collection of them in the entire world.

"Bull shark attacks have the potential to be very dangerous to people," Alexopoulos said. "In fact, most shark attempts in the US that occur are by bull shark."

There has never been an incident with the bull sharks, and Alexopolous says that can be partially attributed to the extreme caution taken when divers get in the tank with them.

"It's a stainless steel chain mail much like King Arthur would have worn," he said.

Divers are required to wear a 30-pound steel suit when swimming with the sharks. While the risk of attack is low, it's always in the back of their minds.

"Every animal is an individual. You can't be in a 100% control of what that animal's going to do every minute," said Kenny Alexopoulos, an Oklahoma Aquarium marine biologist who works with bull sharks.

The Oklahoma Aquarium actually collects its own bull sharks. Its marine biologists travel to the Gulf of Mexico to trap the predators.

The fatal attack is not the first time that a killer whale at a SeaWorld park has turned on a trainer. In Nov. 2006, trainer Kenneth Peters, 39, was bitten and held underwater several times by a 7,000-pound killer whale during a show at SeaWorld's San Diego park. He escaped with a broken foot.

The 17-foot-long orca who attacked him was the dominant female of SeaWorld San Diego's seven killer whales. She had attacked Peters on two prior occasions, in 1993 and 1999.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.