Hardly had the ink dried on my article about Orca Ocean and it’s trainers at Loro Parque (scroll down) than an accident during a play session left 27-year-old trainer Claudia stuck at the bottom of the reserve pool with serious injuries.

Male Orca, Tekoa, was enjoying one of the regular play sessions with Claudia (the smiling face of the advertsing billboards) when he crashed into her chest. Later diagnosed with 2 breaks in her forearm and a damaged lung, Claudia, fell to the bottom of the 12 metre pool and had to be rescued by 2 other trainers and taken to hospital for surgery. Thankfully Claudia is recovering well.

On my visit behind the scenes, experienced trainer Steve and new recruit Lia gave me a fascinating insight into the dedication and love shown to these creatures and the two way trust that is built between whale and trainers. Read the story in The Tenerife Sun or go to features on the website. Get well soon Claudia.