Nature, I’m sure we can all agree, is pretty darn terrifying at times.

We humans may consider ourselves the apex species on the planet, but when stripped of our technology and tools, we’re fairly helpless when pitted against the other creatures with whom we share the Earth

Which is why no matter the circumstances the utmost care and caution should be upheld whenever we interact with animals.

Sadly, there have been too many instances where people have been severely injured, sometimes killed by accidents and incidents relating to being too close to animals either in captivity or in the wild.

Yet most cases pale in comparison to the tragic death suffered by the trainer who was ripped apart by a trio of “psychotic” killer whales in 1991.

Keltie Byrne was working part-time at Sealand of the Pacific in Canada, whilst simultaneously studying to become a marine biologist.

Her work saw her come into contact with a number of marine animals, including killer whales, the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family.

Yet one day, Keltie slipped and fell into a 26-foot pool housing two females and a male named Tilikum, who would go on to garner quite the eerie reputation after his involvement in the deaths of three people.

As per reports, Tilikum had initially been captured off the coast of Iceland in 1983, aged two, and was thereafter placed in a concrete holding tank at Hafnarfjördur Marine Zoo, near Reykjavíc, Iceland.

In 1984 he was moved to Sealand of the Pacific, where he spent more than a decade in a 26-foot pool with the aforementioned females, Haida II and Nootka IV.

When Keltie Byrne fell into his pool in 1991, it’s said that Tilikum grabbed her as the two female killer whales stopped the park’s staff from performing a rescue.

Chilling last words of trainer ripped apart by ‘psychotic’ killer whales