Tilikum*

[Name] Tilikum*
[Date of capture] Oct.83
[Date of death] 06.Jan.17
[Resided at] SeaLand Pacific, SeaWorld Florida
[Parents] Unknown
[Offspring] Kyuquot, Nyar*, Taku*, Unna*, Sumar*, Tuar, Tekoa, Nakai, Kohana, Ikaika, Skyla*, Malia, Sakari, Makaio and 7 Unsuccessful*

Tilikum was an adult bull orca, who became one of the most famous killer whales in captive history. He was incredibly large and fathered most of SeaWorld's calves since the 1990's, including being the first male whose genes were used to artificially inseminate females at other SraWorld parks.
Tilikum's story begins with his capture in October 1983 off Icelandic waters. He was captured alongside Samoa* and Nandu* but was sent to SeaLand Pacific in Canada. He joined Haida 2* and Nootka 4*, who were dominant over him. The three whales were involved in an incident that resulted in the death of a young student/part time trainer, Keltie Byrne. The park eventually closed, and Tilikum was sent to SeaWorld Florida in January 1992.
Tilikum lived at SeaWorld until his death. He used to star in the shows as the big splash finale. He was kept isolated from most of the females who used to be aggressive towards him, except for Taima*, who he spent time with until she passed away.
Unfortunately Tilikum was involved in two other tragedies whilst at SeaWorld. In 1999, Daniel Duke's body was found draped over Tilikum's body, who had obviously jumped into Tilikum's tank after the park had closed.
The most well known event, was the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau in February 2010. He pulled Dawn into the water during a Dine With Shamu session and killed her, which lead to all waterworks with killer whales being stopped globally. These events are the main subject of the film Blackfish (2013) which sparked a public opposition to keeping killer whales in captivity, and causing attendance to SeaWorld to drop significantly. Tilikum passed away in January 2017 after a long battle with ill health.