The Innocence of Tilli

So I've developed this theory. I was talking to my dad who lives in Orlando about the weather up there. He was telling me how on that sad day, Wednesday when Dawn drowned (RIP Dawn Brancheau), there was a cold front coming into Central Florida. Now orcas born in the wild, have natural instincts. When it's cold out, it's instinctive, the orcas dive deeper into the water to stay away from the cold weather.

So if Tillikum was born into the wild, with these natural instincts, he maybe sensed the cold front coming into town, and thought it imperative to dive deeper into the water. Dawn, having worked with these orcas for 16 years, was basically a part of their little Seaworld pod. Tilli, being the largest and oldest orca in their "pod," is probably the alpha orca. Therefore, he probably took it upon himself to ensure that Dawn get below the surface of the water and dive deep down into the "ocean." This can very well be the case, as Dawn was very close to all the orcas at sea world, and they considered her one of them.

Thus, I'd like to propose that Tilli was just looking out for Dawn. According to eyewitnesses, he grabbed her by her ponytail and dragged her into the water. According to the autopsy, Dawn didn't die from from her injuries of being dragged by Tilly, but from drowning to death. Tilly didn't even bite the woman. He dragged her by her pony tail and tried to get her down deep into the pool. So my theory stands, that Tilly, in his head, was only trying to help, even save Dawn. It was an accident, because how are orcas supposed to know that humans can’t breathe underwater?

All in all, Tilly is a good-hearted orca. Even the incident in 1999 when the tourist snuck into his pool is justifiable. Think about a dog. If your dog lives in your backyard, and is expected to guard his territory, then it will attack anything that comes in there unless their trainer/owner allows it.

Now this man that died at seaworld in this incident is not entirely innocent. He was a stow-away at the park, and snuck into the orca pool at about 3am. Now if your dog sees someone invading the backyard at 3 in the morning, wouldn’t it attack them? YES! And this orca did just that, the only difference is the orca has more powerful jaws and can accidentally kill the man while defending his territory.

We should all be considerate to this animal's situation. Yes, he did kill his trainer. But it was unintentional and he ended up losing one of the few if not the only person who truly understands him. Dawn's family has spoken out and said that they do not want any harm to come to the whale for what happened on Wednesday. The orcas were like her children, and I am sure they felt the same way. Right now Tilly is in a small tank that he barely fits in, basically in "orca timeout." He is dwelling there, not knowing what he did wrong, and on top of that, he is grieving. Should this magnificent creature really suffer for trying to do a good deed? You tell me.