(9/20/99)
ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - The parents of a man found naked and dead on the back of a killer whale at SeaWorld Orlando are suing the marine park, alleging the dangerous orca was portrayed as a huggable stuffed toy, a lawyer for the family said Monday.
Patricia and Michael Dukes of Columbia, S.C., filed suit Sept. 10 in Orange Count Circuit Court seeking several million dollars for pain and suffering at the loss of their only son, Daniel, 27, a drifter who died in July in a whale tank at the Florida theme park whom the couple hadn't seen or spoken to in the past 11 years.
Attorney Patricia Sigman said SeaWorld is legally liable because it portrayed the killer whale as human-loving.
``The case goes to the essence of the inaccurate image this whale has been given by SeaWorld,'' Sigman said. ``He is extremely dangerous.''
SeaWorld general manager Vic Abbey told the Miami Herald the park would vigorously fight the lawsuit.
``I've see all kinds of crazy and frivolous things and this is as crazy as they come,'' Abbey told the newspaper. ``We don't roll over when people try to take advantage of us; we generally see playing dead as the ideal alternative.''
Daniel Dukes whose address was listed as a Hare Krishna Temple in Miami, was believed to have hidden in the popular marine park at closing on July 5. He was found dead on the back of an 11,000 pound (4,990 kg) orca named Tillikum the next morning.
Authorities said he either jumped, fell or was pulled into Tillikum's tank, which was filled with 50-degree (10 degrees Celcius) water. The 14-year-old whale, the largest in captivity, may have played with Dukes' 180-pound (81 kg) body as if it were a toy.
Tillikum also was involved in a fatal 1991 incident at a park in Victoria, Canada, in which a trainer slipped and fell into its tank and was held under water by the orca and two female whales until she drowned.
``This whale has a history and a known propensity for possessiveness of anything that touches its water. Yet SeaWorld portrays this animal as being a huggable, kissable, human-loving, friendly, `I'll let you ride on my back' whale,'' Sigman said.
``You can't up-play the danger and at the same time up-play the stuffed animal image,'' she said. ``Teddy bears, as well, have trivialized the dangers of the real thing, causing thousand of deaths each year from bear attacks.''
The lawsuit seeks damages on two counts of liability, one of negligence and one of misrepresentation, Sigman said.
``They (SeaWorld) purposely don't put up signs and give you warnings,'' she said. ``Why does someone have access to this whale and not know the danger?''