Salu's Movie Picks: 'Blackfish' (2013) Quiz

Answer: False

This documentary feature is mainly based on the lives of killer whales or orcas that live in captivity.

Tilikum was captured and taken to the Sealand of the Pacific where he did not get along with any of the other whales as the interviews in the movie revealed. They supported this opinion by saying that they used to put Tilikum in the pool with the other whales and come back to find him with wounds and bruises on him. They concluded that the other whales were mutilating him.

Answer: True

Tilikum was involved in a gruesome event that resulted in the death of a 20 year old trainer at Sealand of the Pacific. It was said that the trainer, Keltie Byrne, was repeatedly submerged into the pool by Tilikum and two other killer whales. Despite rescue attempts, she was killed after being drowned by the whales repeatedly while the entire audience was watching.

Tilikum was then moved to SeaWorld in Florida after which Sealand of the Pacific was closed down.

Answer: Loro Parque

The Loro Parque was shown in the movie as linked to one incident that happened with the whales over there. A trainer named Alexis was killed by an orca, Keto, at Loro Parque. The people interviewed in the movie narrate the story of how his death happened and what their emotions were during that difficult time. According to the film, the death of Alexis was ruled as an accident until the autopsy revealed evidence that he was killed by the orca.

Answer: Dawn Brancheau

Dawn Brancheau was a SeaWorld trainer who was killed in an incident involving Tilikum in 2010. She was completing a show with the whales when she was pulled into the water and drowned. Some said that the whale may have confused her pony tail as a plaything and pulled her into the water. Others believe that it may have been an act of aggression by the whale.

Answer: Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a governmental organisation in the United States that looks after health and safety concerns in dangerous areas of a work place. They were deeply involved in the litigation of SeaWorld after the incident that resulted in the death of Dawn Brancheau.

Answer: Former Trainer

Many former trainers and executives were interviewed for 'Blackfish'. Most them voice their negative views on whale captivity and how they also agree that wild animals are unpredictable. Samantha Berg also narrates a few events that surrounded Dawn's death and also a few things about Tilikum. SeaWorld refused to participate in the creation of the film.

Answer: Gabriela Cowperthwaite

This documentary was directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite. The film was presented by Magnolia Pictures and CNN films. It was shown at the Sundance Festival in 2013. It was filmed after what happened to Dawn Brancheau and the subsequent lawsuit. Gabriela Cowperthwaite has also directed a documentary called 'City Lax: An Urban Lacrosse Story' in 2010. To her production credit, she has movies like 'Intimate Colors' from 1998 and 'Animal Nightmares' which was a TV miniseries from 2003.

Answer: Screaming a high frequency sound

It was said that whales have the capacity to feel emotions and when their calves were taken away, the whales were shown to be screaming at a high frequency. They were said to feel the pain of separation from their children. The birth of whales in captivity was widely advertised by entertainers like SeaWorld, as seen in the advertisements shown in the film.

Answer: True

Dorsal collapse occurs in many males in captivity, according to the movie. But as shown in the film, employees were made to tell the visitors that dorsal collapse occurs commonly in nature, which is inaccurate. Employees were also said to be made to explain that whales live longer in captivity than in the natural wild, which is also inaccurate.

Answer: He was crushed between two whales.

John Sillick worked at San Diego SeaWorld. In 1987, he was crushed between two whales. He was seriously injured. The official reports said that it was a trainer error and not an act of aggression on the whale's part. He had multiple surgeries and is deemed lucky to have got out of that alive. Video footage show that he had done nothing wrong, according to some experts.