SCREENGRABA viral video purporting that marine trainer Jessica Radcliffe
was attacked by an orca (a killer whale) is fictional, the Star can authoritatively confirm.
The video widely shared on TikTok claims that the ’23-year-old’
was attacked by her Orca during a performance.
The videos further allege she died 10 minutes after she was
rescued by staff members.
Another video claimed that the attack was triggered by her menstrual
blood, which had mixed with the water.
However, none of the videos, mostly shared on Facebook and
TikTok, explain where the incident happened.
The voices used in the videos are also artificially
generated.
A further check by The Star revealed that no credible news sources
have reported on the alleged incident.
According to Vocal Media, there is no credible evidence—news
reports, marine park statements, obituaries, legal documents—supporting that
such a person or incident ever existed.
A marine trainer by the name Jessica Radcliffe does not
exist.
Other outlets, however, note that the fictional story borrows
from events that have happened in real life.
A further check disclosed that there are only two documented
incidents of attacks by Orca, including on December 24, 2009, when Alexis
Martínez, a Spanish trainer at Loro Parque in Tenerife, was fatally attacked by
the orca Keto.
On February 24, 2010 when Dawn Brancheau, a senior trainer,
was killed by the orca Tilikum during a SeaWorld show in Orlando.
Orcas, also called killer whales, are the largest members of
the dolphin family.
They’re highly intelligent, social predators found in oceans
all over the world.
