Captured when he was two years old, Tilikum was a whale who spent over three decades in captivity, trained by SeaWorld to perform tricks and stunts. Controversy began to mount around him after he was involved in the death of a trainer in 2010, with much public outcry as it was revealed that he had been involved in the deaths of two other trainers earlier in his life. This controversy became the subject of the BAFTA nominated documentary _Blackfish (2013)_, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite. Less than four years after the movie's release, Tilikum passed away from bacterial pneumonia on January 6, 2017.