Blue Whale Challenge: Teen Live Streams Death in Sick Suicide Game

The Blue Whale Challenge is a twisted game circling the Internet in a bid to drive teens to suicide. At least one has already fallen prey.

The haunting online addiction requires participating teens to complete 50 increasingly terrifying challenges over the course of 50 days.

The final task? That the player commit suicide.

A Texas teen, Isaiah Gonzalez, hanged himself as a direct result of partaking in the ghoulish online game, according to his grieving family.

His father, Jorge Gonzalez, wants to urge parents to monitor their kids" social media use after Isaiah was found dead in chilling fashion.

The younger Gonzalez was discovered hanging in his bedroom closet Saturday with his phone propped up on a shoe to record his death.

A report on the young man"s death from the San Antonio Police Department does not mention the Blue Whale Challenge. However:

But Gonzalez"s family said in the days after the teen died, they pieced it together from his social media and communication with friends.

His sister, Alexis, said that a person behind the challenge had gathered personal info from Isaiah and had threatened to harm the family.

Nevertheless, parents and other authorities are skeptical that the game actually exists, citing a lack of suicides directly attributed to it.

Agent Michelle Lee of the FBI"s San Antonio office said the agency is not involved, but urged parents to monitor children"s online activities.

"It"s a reminder of one of the many dangers and vulnerabilities that children face using various social media and apps online every day," Lee said.

"Parents must remain vigilant."

Jorge Gonzalez is the second parent this week to tell news outlets about a child who died by suicide allegedly as a result of the game.

A Georgia woman, who asked not to be named, spoke Monday to CNN about her 16-year-old girl killing herself in the Blue Whale Challenge.

Until this week, there had been no allegations about a U.S. death directly linked to the game, despite its rumored existence for months.

Suicides in Russia, Brazil and a half dozen other countries were reportedly linked to the challenge in cases of suicides of young people.

Notes have been posted on school district social media pages and sent home to parents in districts across the U.S., according to reports.

So how does it work? Parents believe that teens reach out to game administrators called curators through various social media platforms.

Those curators lead players through 50 days of challenges which may begin in relatively benign fashion, like watching scary movie clips.

However, they progress to cutting symbols into their arms and legs or taking pictures of themselves in incredibly dangerous positions.

The participants are allegedly required to document the completion of the task before they are directed to end their lives on the 50th day.

Horrifyingly, a search of related hashtags on Instagram shows users posting pictures of scars and cuts or memes that depict suicide.

Instagram warns that images tagged under related phrases could be harmful and directs people searching for them to seek help (above).

The Center for Missing and Exploited Children is aware of the challenge and encourages parents to report it and similar activity ASAP.

Even if people don"t have enough information of evidence to go to the police or FBI, there are still resources to help, the group urges.

Please, if you know of anyone participating or encouraging this sick activity, contact everyone in your power to make it stop immediately.

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Tilikum, World"s Most Famous Killer Whale, Dies at 36

Tilikum, the famous, beloved and controversial whale who lived most of his life at SeaWorld in San Diego, died on Friday after a year-long battle with a bacterial infection.

He was presumed to be 36 years old.

The infection affected the animal’s lungs and had been around since last spring, during which time SeaWorld veterinarian sadly announced that the illness was “chronic and progressive.”

Tilikum was born in Iceland and captured in 1983.

He was held in a concrete tank for a year, prior to being sent to British Columbia, Canada, to perform at Sealand of the Pacific.

Over the years, Tilikum became a source of scandal; both due to animal rights organizations taking issue with how animals are held in captivity in this kind of manner…

… and also because he was actually linked to three separate deaths.

In 1991, 20-year-old Keltie Byrne slipped into a tank at an amusement park called Sealand, got thrashed around by whales (including Tilikum) and drowned.

In 1999, 27-year-old Daniel Dukes snuck into SearWorld (after Tilikum was transferred there) and was found drowned and draped across Tilikum’s back.

In 2010, trainer Dawn Brancheau leaned over Tilikum’s tank, was grabbed in his jaws by her hair and drowned as a result of the subsequent thrashing.

Nevertheless, following a year hiatus, Tilikum’s shows continued.

Fans kept showing up to see him perform.

In 2013, the documentary “Blackfish” centered significantly around Tilikum and the deaths that surrounded his existence in captivity.

The film portrayed the whale as a victim; one researcher said his circumstance turned him “psychotic.”

In 2014, SeaWorld announced that it would the stop the practice of captive whale breeding, announcing that Tilikum’s “will be the last generation of orcas at SeaWorld.

He is believed to have sired 21 children.

Despite these controversies, those at SeaWorld held Tilikum in high esteem.

Follow the link in the above Tweet and you can read the following tribute, penned in the wake of his death:

The SeaWorld family is deeply saddened to announce that one of its most well-known orcas, Tilikum, has passed away. Tilikum passed away early this morning, January 6, surrounded by the trainers, care staff and veterinarians that provided him around-the-clock world-class care.

Like all older animals, Tilikum had faced some very serious health issues. While the official cause of death will not be determined until the necropsy is completed, the SeaWorld veterinarians were treating a persistent and complicated bacterial lung infection.

The suspected bacteria is part of a group of bacteria that is found in water and soil both in wild habitats and zoological settings.

Tilikum’s veterinarians and caretakers delivered various treatment regimens over the course of this illness, which consisted of, among other things, combinations of anti-inflammatories, anti-bacterials, anti-nausea medications, hydration therapy and aerosolized antimicrobial therapy.

While today is a difficult day for the SeaWorld family, it’s important to remember that Tilikum lived a long and enriching life while at SeaWorld and inspired millions of people to care about this amazing species.

Tilikum’s life will always be inextricably connected with the loss of our dear friend and colleague, Dawn Brancheau.  While we all experienced profound sadness about that loss, we continued to offer Tilikum the best care possible, each and every day, from the country’s leading experts in marine mammals.

“Tilikum had, and will continue to have, a special place in the hearts of the SeaWorld family, as well as the millions of people all over the world that he inspired,” said President & CEO of SeaWorld Joel Manby. “My heart goes out to our team who cared for him like family.”

Tilikum became a part of SeaWorld’s family 25 years ago. Estimated to be about 36 years old, Tilikum was near the high end of the average life expectancy for male killer whales according to an independent scientific review.

Tilikum was not born at or collected by SeaWorld. He came to us from Sealand of the Pacific in Canada.

SeaWorld has not collected a whale from the wild in nearly 40 years, and this past March we announced the end of the orca breeding program effectively making the whales currently at SeaWorld the last generation of orcas under human care.

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SeaWorld Whale Tilikum Dead at 36

Tilikum — the orca that killed someone at SeaWorld in Orlando 7 years ago — has died. The giant mammal died Friday.  It’s unclear what killed him, but he had been treated for a nagging bacterial infection. The killer whale — which was…

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Kim Kardashian: I Feel Like a F-ckin Whale!

Kim Kardashian cannot wait for Christmas this year.

Because she’s expecting a major gift from husband Kanye West? Actually, yes. But it’s not one that will arrive with a bow on it.

Kardashian and West are expecting their second child on Christmas Day itself… and Kim is clearly anxious for December 25 to arrive.

In her latest website post about “Baby West,” the expecting reality star admits she’s feeling “like a f—king whale” at seven months along.

The mother to North West went on to say she been craving taco salad these days and that she can’t eat Mexican candy anymore because it gives her “too much heartburn.”

Moreover, her son-to-be is also “sitting” on her bladder, which is causing her to “have to pee every five minutes!”

This is pretty typical pregnancy fare. But that likely isn’t much of a comfort to the person experiencing it.

This isn’t to say, however, that Kardashian is enjoying certain perks of her pregnancy.

She was feted over the weekend at a baby shower, spending Sunday in pajamas and hanging out with sisters Kourtney Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and Kendall Jenner.

Kim later shared a picture of her baby bump on Instagram and she’s not kidding… that thing is pretty huge!

But the child that emerges from it will likely be pretty adorable and well worth any and all whale-like feelings.