Girl bitten by dolphin at SeaWorld Orlando

[Hockeyman55]

Just saw this on a preview from our local news here in the West Palm Beach area

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/local-girl-bitten-dolphin-seaworld-orlando/nTLFh/

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Alpharetta girl was bitten by a dolphin at SeaWorld Orlando, and her family captured the incident on video.

In a YouTube post, father Jamie Thomas explains that his daughter was bitten by the dolphin while they were visiting SeaWorld on Nov. 21. His 8-year-old daughter, Jillian Thomas, was feeding the dolphin when the incident occurred.
“I was thinking it was going to haul me into the water, and this is a little crazy, but I thought it was kind of going to eat my hand off,” Jillian told Channel 2’s Sophia Choi.
The dolphin bit after Jillian moved a paper plate that held the fish she was feeding them above the concrete wall.
“When I was done, I accidentally held it up, the dolphin jumped and ate the carton and bit my hand,” Jillian said.
Jillian suffered three small puncture wounds from the incident.
“They told us to make sure the paper plate stays on the wall, but we really didn’t know why and there was no disclaimer. There were no signs on the wall that said the dolphin could bite your hand or that there is a level of risk in this attraction,” Thomas said.
Thomas said SeaWorld did not send over a manager to address the incident.
“They did not tell us to look for any signs of infection. They rinsed it out with Bactine. We had to ask for Band-Aids,” mother Amy Thomas said.

Thomas wrote that he posted the video so other parents "can make an informed decision about whether or not the risks to yourself or your child are worth the experience."

SeaWorld issued a statement regarding the incident.

"Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our guests, employees and animals. Educators and animal care staff are always on-site at this area, monitoring all interactions and are committed to guest safety. Educators and animal care staff were at the attraction when this happened and immediately connected with the family. In addition, a member of our health services team was in the area at Dolphin Cove and quickly responded and treated the young girl. The video had not been previously shared with us and we have not a chance to assess it but certainly take the situation seriously."
The family said it does not plan to take any legal action, but they want SeaWorld to raise the age limit or warn parents that dolphins can and do bite.
Jillian said she still loves dolphins and wants to be a dolphin trainer when she grows up.

[video=youtube_share;qs1iYHtlvCw]http://youtu.be/qs1iYHtlvCw[/video]

 

[Splatter]

I think she is gonna pull through...

Sensationalism. Anyone who does not think things like this could happen when feeding a wild animal is in for a rough life. I was bit in a similar fashion with more puncture wounds by a friend's dog because something I did spooked him. If I wanted to I could of made a lot of drama between said buddy and the way he refuses to nueter his territorial dog, but instead I know it is an animal being an animal.

That being said I do feel bad for the girl for having a moment like that take her out of a great escape and experience, but it is just like having fun running on a playground, there is a risk of tripping and getting hurt from an outside source that was also there to provide the experience. They are still wild animals.

 

[Obi Ubamba]

what a tragedy

 

[doc brown]

and the worst part of all this i bet they pull a lawsuit

 

[l-m-f-a-o]

I think the video is funny.

 

[bobwadd]

It a shame the girl was bitten, but ... if you interact with wild animals this is the risk you take. Even if captive they are still wild. If you believe otherwise I have a theme park to sell you in Orlando. :blank:

 

[Brian G.]

I mean, the video makes it very clear that the Dolphin was just going for the food and not "attacking". You dangle a food source in front of an animal, they are going to go for it.

 

[SammySlythers]

The sad thing about this is even though the girl was clearly in the wrong and didn't follow the rules, SeaWorld will likely still end up changing some aspect of the experience to minimize the risk of another guest doing the same thing and most likely making it a lesser experience. (This is why we've got lapbars on Splash Mountain and Ripsaw...)

 

[Bryan]

"They told us to make sure the paper plate stays on the wall, but we really didn’t know why and there was no disclaimer"

They told us to do something but since they didnt give us a reason we ignored them.

 

[Splatter]

I agree in the sense with that was the most ignorant part of any of the guy's statements. I agree. But I am not going to fault the girl for making an error. I also can't blame Sea World for reviewing its procedures, but again, there is that fine line. Is it worth the risk? I say yeah, you got to interact with a Dolphin! It sounds harsh and it would vary from person to person but you are interacting with a live wild animal, people think just because its captivity there is no risk. The Dolphin likely had no intentions to hurt but more to eat.

Ever get bit while accidently teasing a dog? This is the same premise.

 

[USO92]

[video=youtube;ra_cUTmQykc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra_cUTmQykc[/video]

 

[knokout1]

I was at Seaworld not even a week ago, and I watched the guests feed dolphins from the other side of the lagoon. And I heard them say do not put the container past he wall. Then they said it again. And again.. And then again. And then the people started feeding the dolphins, and at least 4 or 5 times the host of the event stated make sure the container stays on the wall so that IT WILL STAY OUT OF THE DOLPHINS VIEW. They said this every time. They said what will happen if the dolphins see the container. I was a lake away and it was clearly obvious to me. Seaworld did everything in their power to prevent the girl from getting bitten. And it they do try to press charges, it's pretty obvious the dolphin wasn't attacking her after it left her alone when it got what it wanted.

 

[Octobers Fade]

I was at Seaworld not even a week ago, and I watched the guests feed dolphins from the other side of the lagoon. And I heard them say do not put the container past he wall. Then they said it again. And again.. And then again. And then the people started feeding the dolphins, and at least 4 or 5 times the host of the event stated make sure the container stays on the wall so that IT WILL STAY OUT OF THE DOLPHINS VIEW. They said this every time. They said what will happen if the dolphins see the container. I was a lake away and it was clearly obvious to me. Seaworld did everything in their power to prevent the girl from getting bitten. And it they do try to press charges, it's pretty obvious the dolphin wasn't attacking her after it left her alone when it got what it wanted.

Was this after the girl got bit?

I don't see this video as a bad thing, and from the news report they are not sueing, if it reminds SeaWorld and the public that this could happen...Again not a bad thing.
Now if a Lawyer gets involved I reserve the right to retract part of that statement.

 

[Vyrus]

Whenever I've done this experience its repeated, over and over and over..did I mention over again DO NOT PICK UP THE TRAY OFF THE WALL...heck even when they come by to throw away the tray, they slide it back and into the garbage, not up into the air.

Its truly ignorant on this guys part that he knew they said not to pick it up, but since a reason wasn't given the rule doesn't apply to them.

As a parent I would be a little sad that it happenned to my kid, but heck they came over with biotene to wash it out and rinse it out without infection and then told them to have a nice day. Don't know what else they were expecting

But I suspect this happens more often than not..I do remember a time we were allowed to hold the trays in our hands.

 

[Bryan]

I'm sure it's happened before. Most people probably don't make a big deal about it and run to the news.

 

[Hockeyman55]

Anyone find out how the dolphin is doing?

Ok bad jokes aside, it's very unfortunate this happened and people should really be careful while feeding them and also keeping and eye on the kids. I've done this numerous times and remember seeing warnings about keeping the trays away from the edge for this exact reason

 

[batsmouth]

I have really no sympathy for the girl, the parents should have been more responsible by not letting her lift the tray up. It really bugs me when people feed the sting rays and dangle them above the fish. So they jump and then hit the wall, if you don't want to get your hands wet or if you get creeped out then simply don't feed them.

 

[Vyrus]

The story is now in the Sun Sentinel down here in Miami and it goes into more detail that Seaworld DID respond to the incident a lot more so than the article above mentions, and that these bites actually don't happen too often...hmm I wonder why? MAYBE CAUSE PEOPLE FOLLOW RULES!

But on another side note, it does make for a pretty funny screenshot of the video they used in the article:

 

[Brian G.]

The dolphin bit her on porpoise!

eace:

 

[Hockeyman55]

[video=youtube_share;5g4DgQayaOw]http://youtu.be/5g4DgQayaOw[/video]