The killer whale from 'Blackfish' is dead

SeaWorld is still trying to convince the world its killer whales are just as well off there as they would be in the wild.

SeaWorld announced on Friday that Tilikum, the killer whale at the center of the documentary, "Blackfish," has died. Tilikum killed his trainer in 2010, and became a focal point in the debate over the quality of life orcas experience at SeaWorld, and how orcas respond to it.

The public relations team at SeaWorld understands that its orcas are still very much tied to the documentary, and so it begins its statement about Tilikum ensuring its audience that the orca was treated as well as possible.

"Tilikum passed away early this morning, January 6, surrounded by the trainers, care staff and veterinarians that provided him around-the-clock world-class care," the statement said.

From there, readers are assured that there was nothing unusual about Tilikum's death. The orca is described as "older," and his death was attributed to an unnamed bacteria that is "found in water and soil both in wild habitats and zoological settings."

"Estimated to be about 36 years old, Tilikum was near the high end of the average life expectancy for male killer whales according to an independent scientific review," the statement said.

The company's CEO, Joel Manby, then provides a fawning quote about how Tilikum inspired "millions of people all over the world."

This series of information leaves out several items. The most notable, perhaps, is that Tilikum "inspired" people by being a part of a documentary that demonstrated how life for a killer whale is worse in captivity than it is in the wild, as the whales were shown to be mistreated, perform odd stunts, and forced to produce offspring.

The statement did not specify the type of bacteria that killed the orca, making it difficult to determine whether or not it is more likely to infect orcas in the wild or in captivity, and it misled readers with regards to the animal's age.

Tilikum was estimated to be around 36 years old and, while that's not young by orca standards, it's far from universally considered to be "older." Scientists are still arguing about the lifespan of captive orcas versus their wild counterparts, but some say that killer whales in the wild live many years longer on average. Even if captive and free whales live for the same time, experts have pointed out that captive whales provided with medical care who live without the random violence of the wild should theoretically live longer, to say nothing of the quality of those years.

SeaWorld is phasing out its killer whale program, but plans to keep the whales it already owns, arguing that they wouldn't survive if they were released.

At the end of the statement about Tilikum, SeaWorld provides a video about its "orca care."