Dawn Brancheau served as a trainer at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, until February 24, 2010, when she was fatally attacked by a killer whale during a show. Brancheau, who was 40 years old at the time of her death, had worked at SeaWorld Orlando for 16 years prior to the incident.http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article7040353.ece

Following the incident, spectators were evacuated from the park and the park was closed while an investigation into the matter is conducted. The fate of the whale, which had been involved in deaths previously, is still being decided, but it continues to live on in the Sea World Orlando park as it always has. Trainers now take extra precautions around the whale, including the use of 2-foot extension poles to brush the animal's teeth and adjusting the gates on the whale's tank.http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/22/nation/la-na-seaworld-tilikum22-2010mar22

Witness accounts of the death have varied, with some stating Brancheau was rubbing the head of the whale, named Tilikum, after a performance when it grabbed her and thrashed her around in its mouth. The whale reportedly then held Brancheau under water until she stopped moving. Emergency crews on the scene were unable to revive her.http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article7040353.ece

A autopsy performed in late March revealed that Brancheau died as a result of a variety of traumatic injuries, including a torn scalp and a severed left arm. The trainer's spinal cord was also damaged during the attack, leaving a variety of cuts, bruises and fractures across Branchaeu's body. The Orange County Florida Sheriff's Department has concluded that the whale pulled the trainer into the water and then caused her fatal injuries.http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20356117,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+people%2Fheadlines+%28PEOPLE.com%3A+Top+Headlines%29

According to Brancheau and her family members, she knew at the age of nine that she wanted to work with whales after visiting SeaWorld. "I remember walking down the aisle [of Shamu Stadium] and telling my mom, 'This is what I want to do,'" Brancheau told the Orlando Sentinel in 2006. Brancheau worked at the Sea Lion & Otter Stadium at SeaWorld for 10 years before moving over to Shamu Stadium in 2004.http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2006-01-09/news/orl-seaworld-trainer-killed-dawn-brancheau_1_killer-whales-trainer-shamu-stadium