Tilikum was likely "playing" ... and the accident, although tragic, but was the inevitable culmination of Dawn Brancheau's beautiful life!

Tilikum should certainly not be "put down" as we do with so many of God's creatures from unborn fetuses to civilian non-combatants in Afghanistan

Dawn Brancheau, the whale trainer who died on Wednesday, was from all accounts an amazing and loving person. She loved "her" whales and surely, would be the first to plead the case of Tilikum, the "killer" whale who grabbed her ponytails and dragged her to a drowning death on Wednesday. Returning Tilikum to an anonymous pod in the oceans--or outright killing him at SeaWorld (or elsewhere away from public scrutiny)--would add another (admittedly lesser) tragedy to the sad tragedy on Wednesday.

Save the Whales!
And while we're at it, we might question the concept of capturing and imprisoning wildlife in very cramped quarters while requiring them to play "games" and look "cute" in their cages, tanks and the center rings of various circuses worldwide.