Deadliest Animals to Humans

I was watching a show yesterday with Dave Salmoni interacting with crocodiles in Africa. He mentioned that despite the widely perceived threat to humans in Africa from crocs (unless you're a pregnant woman defending your man, that is), they are not responsible for the largest number of human deaths by animal attack in Africa per year. That animal, per Salmoni, is the hippopotamus. (Eek - I may have to change my Christmas list.) That was surprising to me since I've never really thought of hippos as anything but laid back, mud wallowers. And it got me wondering what animal was responsible for the most human deaths each year worldwide.

The answer to that turns out to be the mosquito. The World Health Organization says a child dies of malaria (after being bitten by an infected mosquito) every 30 seconds. An estimated 2 million people die from malaria every year. In the U.S., we are not at risk for contracting malaria via mosquitoes. We do see a number of deaths every year in the U.S. from animals such as bees and wasps and indirectly, from deer who run in front of cars and cause accidents.

Sea World Covers Up Dangers of Whale-Trainer Interaction

Sea World reportedly quashed a 2007 report from OSHA which warned of additional killer whale attacks at the park. What's that? You didn't realize a company could say "Thanks but no thanks" to a government issued workplace safety report? Me neither. But apparently "SeaWorld successfully argued that Cal/OSHA was not qualified to draw conclusions about marine mammals and the report was killed[...]" In other words, OSHA might know about workplace safety but they couldn't possibly know about safety in our workplace - we're speshul.

This isn't the first time Sea World protected its corporate interests by hiding information on the dangers of riding around on captive killer whales for shows. In 1987, a trainer was seriously injured by a killer whale at Sea World and he filed a lawsuit:

Video footage showed Orky the killer whale slamming down John Allen Sillick, breaking his bones and crushing his insides.
The accident sparked a lawsuit, but it was not what 10News found in the lawsuit that was intriguing but what was missing. The lawyers for a previous owner of SeaWorld, Harcourt and Brace, had cleared the courtroom during any discussions of Orky’s health, medications, and physical limitations. Then, they managed to convince the judge to seal those parts of the records from public view, forever. . “I have no idea why that case was sealed or who requested it. I can’t comment on it,” said Brad Andrews, Vice President of Zoological Operations with Busch Entertainment.
The judge’s remarks were not sealed and provided tantalizing clues.
They revealed 20-year-old Orky was not a healthy whale. He was partially blind and had “visual limitations not told (to trainer).” Additionally, the whale had limited ability to jump.
A year after he crushed Sillick, Orky died from “acute pneumonia, chronic wasting."

Sea World stated (pdf), and I'm paraphrasing, that the park's owners had wanted the veterinary info sealed because it contained trade secrets and the public was too dumb to understand it anyway. That may be true but I think it's fairly self-explanatory that the whale involved was dead a year later due to a chronic condition.

If interested, read the pdf linked above for more fascinating Sea World spin. It's a Q and A between Sea World and Channel 10 News in San Diego. There's so much bobbing and weaving going on, you're left feeling like you just went a couple rounds with Muhammad Ali.

What Will Sea World Do Next?

After the death of a killer whale trainer this week (most excellent commentary here), Sea World has been thrust into brand crisis management mode:

After decades of cultivating a corporate image around one of the ocean's greatest predators, SeaWorld managers must reassure visitors that a killer whale's fatal mauling of its trainer doesn't mean the parks aren't safe.
[...]
Marketing and public relations experts say what the company does in coming days will be key to preserving its image.

Glenn Bunting, managing director for the Los Angeles-based crisis management firm Sitrick and Co. said SeaWorld needs to respond promptly and proactively.

"They need to review every safety precaution," he said. "They need to explain how it happened, why it happened and make sure it doesn't happen again to reassure the public."

I wonder how they will "make sure" this whale (Tilikum), or any other whale that gets ridden around on for park visitors' viewing pleasure, won't kill someone else.

Larry L. Smith, president of the Institute for Crisis Management, in Louisville, Ky., defended SeaWorld's response.

"They've not overreacted. They've not gone into a stall. They're not ducking the media," he said. And, he said, they had the advantage that the attack occurred the same day the head of Toyota testified before Congress about his own company's public relations crisis and broke down crying.

Oh that is lucky! Some people have been killed in runaway cars and this trainer lost her life when the media was distracted by the investigation. Everything fell into place so nicely.

Smith said the attack could actually drive up attendance of at least one demographic — teens and young adults.

"It's not going to draw families necessarily or older people who would typically visit there, but there is an age group that gets excited about the risks and the potential for drama and it may attract some of those folks," he said.

It's like the X-Games but with whales instead of skateboards. Awesome! Sea World may have hit the jackpot here.

For now, the killer whale shows have been suspended. As for what Sea World will do next, I would love it if Sea World announced it was letting all its marine mammals go free. They won't, I know. Tilikum in particular has been a prolific sire for their captive breeding program. He's worth a lot of money. And that, I'm guessing, will continue to be the guiding light for Sea World.

***

News conference scheduled for 1pm Eastern.

Update: A summary of the news conference here.

Monkey in a Cage Acts Like Caged Monkey

I guess nobody thought to advise "Sammy" he's a pet monkey:

Police said their investigation showed Green was holding her granddaughter near the cage that held Sammy, a monkey kept in the home as a pet. The baby started crying. Green then noticed the monkey had reached outside of its cage and grabbed the hood of the coat Brenna was wearing. Police said the monkey began pulling on the hood, causing the baby's head to repeatedly strike the metal cage. The monkey let go of the hood but started pulling the infant's hair, police said.

The baby was checked out at a hospital in IN and released. Luckily, there were no serious injuries... this time.

We'll Make Great Pets

If only there could have been some earthly way to predict this tragedy:

Authorities in northeastern Pennsylvania say a woman was killed by her pet black bear as she cleaned its cage.
[...]
Officials say Walz [the owner] threw a shovelful of dog food to one side of the cage to distract the bear while she cleaned the other side. At some point the bear turned on her and attacked.

"At some point" - hmm. Maybe when the bear finished the allotment of dog food. Or maybe when he realized he was hungry for something a little more substantial. Or maybe when he felt like being a bear.

The owner reportedly kept a tiger and a lion as pets too.