Update: SeaWorld policy raised concerns about 'dangling hair' for trainers

(The following is directly from an article in the Orlando Sentinel.)

SeaWorld has a policy forbidding its killer-whale trainers from having "dangling hair" that the animals could grab onto, according to records from a workplace-safety investigation at the company's San Diego theme park.

Investigators with Cal-OSHA, examining a 2006 incident in which a trainer was injured when an orca grabbed him by the feet and held him underwater, found that SeaWorld trainers are "not allowed to have dangling hair or any accessories on their bodies that the whales might be able to grab when they are around the pool."

But a veteran trainer at SeaWorld Orlando was killed last week when, authorities say, one of the park's orcas grabbed Dawn Brancheau by her long ponytail, pulled her deep into his tank and drowned her. The tragedy has prompted fresh scrutiny of SeaWorld's safety practices, including its hair-length policy.

In the initial version of its report, the California workplace-safety agency, known as Cal/OSHA, warned that "swimming with captive orcas is inherently dangerous."

"If someone hasn't been killed already, it is only a matter of time before it does happen," the agency warned. Investigators said SeaWorld should be prepared to kill one of its animals to save a trainer caught by an orca that is "out of control and not responding to other available control measures."

SeaWorld said Monday that its policy was designed to prevent "free-flowing hair" and that trainers could still have long hair as long as it was tied in a ponytail, as Brancheau's was. The company said the rule was meant to reduce risks other than being snatched by an orca.

"Free-flowing hair has the ability to flow in front of your eyes, blocking you, or, most importantly, it gets in front of a killer whale and becomes a distraction," said Chuck Tompkins, corporate curator in charge of animal behavior for all of SeaWorld's parks. He added that the risk of a long ponytail being grabbed was lessened because "all of the water-work animals have been trained not to pull on hair."

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