Sea World Suspends Shamu’s Twitter Account In Wake of Trainer’s Tragic Killing

In the wake of yesterday’s tragic killing of an experienced Sea World trainer, Dawn Brancheau, by a killer whale named Tilikum, Sea World has suspended the “light-hearted,” “quirky”  Twitter account for Shamu that they set up about a year ago.(“Shamu” is Sea World’s stage name for several of their killer whales.)

From Sea World’s blog:

About a year ago SeaWorld launched a Twitter account giving voice to Shamu. In part because of his worldwide celebrity and in part because of his ability to find humor in the world around him, @Shamu has gained a significant following on Twitter. Many of his most loyal followers have noted his absence from Twitter since the tragic events of Wednesday, February 24 at SeaWorld Orlando.

At this difficult time, @Shamu will not be active on Twitter, as users who follow@Shamu have come to expect posts that are light-hearted and perhaps a bit quirky. SeaWorld’s other accounts, including @SeaWorld_Parks, will remain active and regular updates will be communicated through Twitter and other social networking platforms.

While the account is going down for the time being, the whale involved in the attack is not: despite rumors that Tilikum would be euthanized in light of yesterday’s events, Sea World has announced that they will continue to work with the killer whale.

(via BuzzFeed)