SeaWorld trainer yelled ‘my neck is broken’ after being body slammed by most dangerous orca

Joanne Webber, 26 at the time, had been working with orcas for five years when an incident that left her with a broken neck took place in 1987. While she was in the tank, the 6,000-pound mammal landed on top of her, pushing her to the bottom of the pool.

The orca in question, Kandu V, had been involved in several incidents prior to the one Webber was hurt in.

John Hargrove, a former SeaWorld trainer who appeared in the 2013 documentary Blackfish, told The Sun Online that although he wasn’t working at the park at the time, he heard about the incident afterwards and said Webber was left in “excruciating pain.”

He added that the trainer was heard yelling, “I think my neck is broken” as she made several attempts to escape out of the pool and save herself.

SeaWorld

According to The Los Angeles Times, during the practice session Kandu V leapt into the air before landing on Webber with its full force, “fracturing her neck and thrusting her underwater to the bottom of a 40-foot-deep pool.”

Later, Webber sued SeaWorld in a case that was settled out of court for a sum unknown.

Ever since this incident, SeaWorld forbade trainers from swimming with the massive mammals. The park also added at the time that their orcas are not aggressive and receive world-class care by a number of specialist who practice “positive reinforcement.”

inherentlywild / Orcaholic

As per Webber’s lawsuit filed at San Diego Superior Court in June 1988, she was told the mammals were “gentle” and “safe” thus she made the decision to be inside the pool with them. The suit further claimed that staff members worsened her condition because they delayed her medical treatment by urging her to remove her wetsuit at the park so it wouldn’t be damaged by medical personnel.

Webber alleged park workers “well knew that killer whales had a dangerous propensity for attacking, ramming, dragging and smashing persons located in the pool,” but didn’t tell her. She claimed Kandu V often exhibited “extreme characteristics of aggression when frustrated. She does occasionally bite and aggressively rake other whales.”

Getty Images

This wasn’t the first reported cases of the same mammal attacking a person. Months prior, former SeaWorld trainer Jonathan Smith was also attacked by Kandu V, but this time another orca, Kenau, joined in. In the three minutes that the attack lasted, Smith suffered serious injuries, including bruised kidneys and ribs as well as a cut on his liver. He spent nine days at the hospital. Just like in Webber’s case, Smith’s lawsuit was settled out of court.

Despite the two attacks, Kandu V continued performing for SeaWorld until her life ended in a horrific manner on August 21, 1989.

While Kandu V’s daughter Orkid performed a show with another female orca, Orkid, Kandu V, which was in a side back pool, started ramming into Orkid at full speed with her mouth open. At that moment, she broke her jaw, severing a major artery in her nasal passages.

To the shock of the visitors, Kandu V started spouting blood out of her blowhole and died.

According to SeaWorld, Kandu V fought for dominance and her behavior wasn’t out of the ordinary. “It’s common behavior. For the survival of any species, the stronger animal has to rule,” vet Jim McBain told the LA Times at the time. “The death was an unexpected shock, but the altercation was not a rare event at all. It was normal behavior.”

In 2016, SeaWorld promised to stop breeding orcas in captivity.

The story of the incident involving Webber emerged recently after two orcas attacked each other while performing.

Please SHARE this article with your family and friends on Facebook.

Bored Daddy

Love and Peace

Monica Pop
Monica Pop
Monica Pop is a senior writer for Bored Daddy magazine covering the latest trending and popular articles across the United States and around the world.

More from author

Related posts

Latest posts

Woman shares ’embarrassing’ symptoms she regrets hiding from doctors as she’s diagnosed with incurable cancer

45-year-old Jenny Duncan is sharing her story about her battle with cancer and how she regrets hiding her symptoms from her doctor only because she...

Eight-year-old boy rescues a child from a locked car, gets late to class and scolded – then something unexpected happens!

Eight-year-old Liam Parker was rushing to school, as usual, running late to class. His backpack bounced against his shoulders as he was trying to...

The anatomy of a strategic disaster

California Governor Gavin Newsom is making a strong effort to fight back against Donald Trump's push for redistricting in Texas by attempting his own...

Angelina Jolie and Zahara Jolie-Pitt turn the 2025 Golden Globes into a mother-daughter style masterclass

Angelina Jolie and daughter Zahara Jolie-Pitt shared a mother-daughter moment at the Golden Globes 2025, and it's safe to say that all eyes were...

Woman spends over a decade saving for a nose job—better sit down before seeing her after

It's not a secret that most people would gladly alter certain aspects of their faces or bodies in order to feel more confident about...

Strange noises came from the nursery each night —everything seemed fine until I got a baby monitor

My evenings at home with my baby daughter Ivy were small miracles. Her soft laughter, the warm cocoa, and the quiet joy of a...