Many were disturbed by the heartbreaking video that showed the unimaginable attack on Spanish orca trainer Alexis Martinez.
In the Canary Islands, the 28-year-old had been working with orcas at Loro Parque’s Orca Ocean.
On December 24, 2009, the orca Keto killed Alexis Martinez while they were rehearsing for a Christmas show.
Tragically, he passed away two months prior to Dawn Brancheau, a 14-year-old trainer, being attacked and killed by an orca.
Just weeks prior to the attack in which he was killed, Martinez expressed concerns about the killer whales’ behavior, according to his partner, Estefanía Luis Rodriguez. He told her that the whales were getting aggressive, disruptive, and disobedient.
Born in 1995 in a SeaWorld park, Keto is a 6,600-pound male killer whale that has never seen the ocean. Keto was on loan from SeaWorld to Loro Parque at the time of Martinez’s passing.
The trainer balanced on the killer whale as he emerged from the water during Martinez’s attempt at a stand-on spy hop, which led to the tragedy.
However, Keto leaned to one side, and another trainer claimed that the orca appeared to have placed himself between the stage and his trainer on purpose.
