a Darwin Award nominee wasn't happy in the Krsna temple

[Guest guest]

(found on http://darwinawards.com/darwin/)

 

Killer Whale rodeo

 

 

(6 July 1999, Florida) A naked man was found dead on the back of a killer

whale at Sea World in Orlando on Tuesday morning, a victim of drowning or

hypothermia in the 55-degree water. "There were no obvious signs of trauma.

He wasn't chewed or dismembered," the sheriff's office said. The body had

scrapes on it, possibly signifying that the victim had been dragged along

the bottom of the tank.

Is a man who swims with Orcas worthy of a Darwin Award? Insights into his

bizarre history may help us decide.

 

He was identified as a marijuana-smoking drifter named Daniel. The South

Carolina native carried a tattered Florida DMV card, and police traced the

address on the card to a Hare Krishna temple in Miami.

 

Priest Paul Seaur provided insights into Daniel's month-long stay with the

community of six worshippers. He had a great love of nature, writing in his

journal and feeding wild birds in the temple garden. Daniel had difficulty

adjusting to the religion's 4AM wake-up time, their dietary prohibitions,

and their abstinence from liquor, drugs, sex, and gambling. He preferred to

dodge work and meditate in the chapel listening to heavy metal music.

 

Daniel unexpectedly announced that he was taking a vow of silence, which

puzzled the Hare Krishnas, since their religion does not urge its members to

be silent. He left abruptly in the spring, saying, "I want to be free. I

want to travel around."

 

Daniel left a string of petty offences throughout South Carolina,

Washington, Texas and Florida. Just days before his death, he had completed

a three day sentence to the Indian River County Jail for stealing a

3-Musketeers candy bar from 7-Eleven. He resumed his vow of silence in

court. "The suspect could not speak," a Vero Beach officer reported, so

instead he used paper and pen to deny the charge.

 

Three days later, our intrepid stoner gained admittance to SeaWorld and

loitered near the whale pools until 10PM closing, evading the 24-hour

security. After stripping to his bathing trunks, he scaled a 3-foot

plexiglas barrier, crossed a short stone wall, and climbed into Tillikum's

frigid enclosure using steps ringing the 80x100-foot pool. An employee

spotted Daniel's nude form draped just below Tillikum's dorsal fin at

7:35AM. His swimming shorts were found elsewhere in the tank. Tillikum

apparently tried to remove his shorts with his razor sharp teeth, the

medical examiner said.

 

The nature lover left few clues about his state of mind when he decided to

commune with a carnivore the size of a bus. A joint was found inside his

pile of clothes, but no admission ticket to SeaWorld. Anonymous park workers

made a surprise announcement that this was not the first time Daniel had

communed with sea mammals. Two years ago, they recall that he jumped into

the manatee tank, which is filled with warmer water and less offensive

creatures.

 

Notes about Tillikum the killer whale:

 

The 8-year-old mammal is the largest killer whale in captivity, at 22 feet

and 11,000 pounds. He was appraised at 1.5 million dollars when purchased by

SeaWorld in 1991, where he joined 13 other killer whales. He was considered

dangerous, as he was never trained for human contact. Biologists say he

probably played with Daniel like a toy, without realizing that he was a

fragile human being.

 

This is not his first encounter with death. Tillikum and two other whales

were involved in the drowning of a trainer in Victoria, Canada in 1991.

Keltie Byrne fell into the whale tank at the SeaLand Marine Park and was

dragged beneath the surface to her watery demise.

 

Tillikum is a fecund marine predator, and the sire of four calves born

during his breeding stay in Florida.

 

In a comparison between Tillikum and Daniel, it's clear who is higher on the

evolutionary scale.