SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. has been fighting public-relations crises since 2010, when the orca Tilikum killed trainer Dawn Brancheau in Orlando. Controversy over killer whales at its theme parks has been fueled by last year's documentary "Blackfish," which suggested the stresses of life in captivity may have caused Tilikum to lash out. Just last month, Atchison told analysts that SeaWorld had hired new people with expertise in public affairs, along with outside advisers "to help us navigate some of this."