Orca at the Center of ‘Blackfish’ Suffering From Serious, Potentially Fatal Illness

A still from ‘Blackfish’

There might soon be a sad post-script to 2013′s horrifying film Blackfish.

Tilikum, the orca at the center of director Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s documentary about the alleged abusive treatment of captive animals at SeaWorld, is seriously ill from a lung infection. TMZ broke the news on Tuesday, and the theme park company — which has vehemently denied the allegations in Cowperthwaite’s film — confirmed the report later in the afternoon, saying in a Facebook post that “Tilikum’s health has been deteriorating.”

In the accompanying video, a company veterinarian says, “I wish I could say I was tremendously optimistic about Tilikum and his future, but he has a disease which is chronic and progressive, and at some point might cause his death.”

Related: The ‘Blackfish’ Director Decries SeaWorld’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Float

Cowperthwaite’s film, which had a theatrical release and aired on CNN, had a massive impact on the public perception of SeaWorld, as well as the company’s bottom line. Tilikum, now estimated to be 35 years old, had been involved in the deaths of three people over the years, and the movie alleged that his behavior was due to the treatment he received, including the small captivity pools in which he was kept for many years.

SeaWorld has long maintained that it treats its animals well (and even started a website to prove it), but the public was clearly not persuaded: Attendance at parks dropped, and last August, the company reported an 84 percent decline in profits. In November, SeaWorld announced it would be phasing out its traditional “Shamu” orca show in San Diego and replacing it with a new one in 2017 that would be staged in a “more natural setting,” with a “conservation message inspiring people to act.”

Related: More 'Blackfish’ Effect? SeaWorld to End Orca Show as We Know It in San Diego

Politicians have also gotten involved: California enacted a ban on breeding orcas in the state (SeaWorld sued over it), and Canada has been considering a bill to phase out the captivity of whales and dolphins.

“When [people] think about the value of the day at SeaWorld, I think most people won’t really miss it,” Cowperthwaite told Yahoo Movies in late 2014. “It shows that people are willing to shift 180 degrees on something … people were willing to say whoops and change the way they do things, for ethical reasons.”

At the time, Cowperthwaite said she was skeptical of any changes that SeaWorld promised that didn’t involve creating a whale sanctuary for its captive animals.

"The problem with their business model,” she said, “is how can you truly take care of an animal — how can you care about he welfare of an animal and the people that work with that animal — when the show always has to go on?”

Watch a trailer for ‘Blackfish:’