BIMBO THE KILLER WHALE

Bimbo starred at Marineland of the Pacific the 1960s. At nearly 18 feet, he was the
largest pilot whale in the park. For three years, he performed his spectacular tricks. The
finale of the whale show had him plunge to three-story depths, then rocket to the
surface and beyond. His landing literally shook spectators in their seats.

OUT OF CONTROL
Bimbo went out of control behind the scenes.
He began to pummel his pool-mates.
He went a month without food, dropping a thousand pounds. He refused to cooperate
with his trainers and even knocked them around.

MANIC DEPRESSIVE PSYCHOSIS

Bimbo's main companion in the pool was a female pilot whale. She may have been his
mother. Her death, closely followed by the demise of a smaller dolphin companion,
seemed to drive Bimbo into depression.
Bimbo got 6000-milligram injections of anti-depressants when he was down, then
tranquilizers to calm his wild moods.

FREEDOM
Bimbo slammed through two-inch-thick layers of glass, each theoretically strong enough
to withstand 15 thousand pounds of pressure. Three hundred twenty-five thousand
gallons of water poured into a spectators' area
Bimbo was removed from the park and shipped back to the sea. He immediately joined
a pod off fellow pilot whales. Observe saw him racing in 500-yard stretches and
pirouetting out of the water with what looked like joy. Some seven years later, he was
spotted, apparently prospering off the coast of Southern California.