When you're the world's most famous whale, you're bound to have
many admirers. Thousands of school children donated to the
initial effort to move Keiko from a Mexican amusement park in
the mid-1990s. Attendance rose to an all-time high at the
Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, Oregon, when Keiko began
playing in his new, multimillion-dollar tank in 1996.
Icelanders rolled out the red carpet when Keiko moved to the
Westman Islands to begin his reintroduction to the wild in
1998, and children and adults alike greeted Keiko with delight
when he surfaced in a Norwegian fjord in September 2002.
While most of Keiko's fans have only his best interests in
mind, others appear to be motivated purely by self-interest,
possibly even outright greed. Dozens of would-be entrepreneurs
in Norway quickly established Keiko-watching excursions in the
fjord, which may have stressed the orca into a minor illness.
Then the Oregon Coast Aquarium informally offered to take Keiko
back in an effort to help the animal and, no doubt, to bring
back those millions of visitors who paid as much as $8.50 to
see the whale.
But here's the granddaddy of all the offers to "help": The
Miami Seaquarium has filed a formal permit with The National
Marine Fisheries Services to bring Keiko back to the United
States and display him in the amusement park's tank.
"While this idea is preposterous," says Paul G. Irwin,
President and CEO of The HSUS, "this risk to Keiko's future is
serious and threatens to put Keiko right back where he was—in a
small tank where he'd spend his days performing tricks and his
nights floating around in circles. Returning to captivity is
just about the worst thing in the world for Keiko."
It's worth noting that 132 orcas have died in captivity
since the 1960s when the first orca was captured for display.
And since the effort to reintroduce Keiko to the wild began in
the mid-1990s, 21 orcas have died in captivity.
The conditions in Miami are hardly suitable for Keiko, or
any orca for that matter. The average temperature in Miami in
July is 83 degrees. In Keiko's native waters near
Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland, the temperature averages below 50
degrees all year. What's more, the Seaquarium has the smallest
orca tank in the United States. (The last time Keiko was
confined to a small tank, at the Mexican amusement park, he
developed serious skin lesions.) Activists have already been
fighting for years to free the Seaquarium's lone orca, a female
named Lolita who was captured off the coast of Washington State
more than 30 years ago.
While the debate heats up in the United States, Keiko's
situation in Norway is improving. David Phillips, who heads the
Free Willy/Keiko Foundation, has been working closely with
Norwegian authorities to scout locations where Keiko could
interact with wild whales and seek protection from boats. They
are making plans for Keiko to winter in Norway, and they hope
to identify a location in a couple of weeks.
Keiko Project staff have also been working on a massive
education effort to discourage the public in Norway from
feeding, swimming with, or approaching Keiko in boats. The
Norwegian government has been cooperative in this effort; it
has, in fact, established regulations that forbid people from
coming within 50 meters of Keiko, a regulation that has
dramatically curtailed public interactions with the orca.
What's more, officials with the Norwegian Ministry of
Fisheries have issued statements assuring the public that they
have no intention of harming Keiko and that they will work
cooperatively to assist the orca. Norwegian officials have even
indicated that calls for Keiko's return to captivity will fall
on deaf ears; one official said the government does not believe
an animal as large as an orca should be in captivity.
"It's encouraging to see so many people working together to
safeguard Keiko's health and safety," says Irwin. "We only hope
that everyone has Keiko's best interests in mind."
Some read Keiko's appearance in Norway as proof that the
effort to reintroduce him has failed. However, those actually
involved in the project have far different opinions. Marine
mammal scientists and other handlers have expressed excitement
that Keiko has traveled hundreds of miles from his sea pen in
Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland and still remains in excellent health.
Keiko's veterinarian recently measured his girth and found that
the measurements matched the levels taken before the whale left
Iceland in early July.
Combined with photographic proof of Keiko's condition upon
arrival in Norway and the signs of deep-diving patterns, the
measurements provide conclusive evidence that Keiko had
successfully foraged and sustained himself for nearly 60 days.
For the first time ever, a whale captured from the wild and
held in captivity had learned once again how to forage.
As for what comes next, HSUS scientists say it's really up
to Keiko. In cooperation with the Free Willy/Keiko Foundation,
The HSUS will feed and care for Keiko through the winter if
necessary. The hope is that Keiko will find his winter home
inviting, but will choose to interact with the wild whales.
Despite the occasional setbacks, which are expected in a
difficult reintroduction campaign such as this, it's clear that
Keiko has made steady and significant progress in his move back
to the wild. He's gained weight, he's learned to forage, and
he's spent weeks swimming on his own in the North Atlantic,
free from any human interference. The HSUS believes these kinds
of efforts should be encouraged, not discouraged by the likes
of the Miami Seaquarium. In fact, the Seaquarium should be
learning from The HSUS's work with Keiko and using it to free
Lolita and other whales in captivity.
"Had Keiko not been moved first to Oregon and then to
Iceland, it's doubtful that he would have lived this long,"
says Irwin. "With each step towards freedom, there's been some
risk. We've worked hard to give Keiko every chance at freedom
and to minimize risks to his health and safety. We'll keep
fighting for Keiko and the other whales, and working to defeat
this effort to move Keiko to Florida. We need your
support."
How You Can Help
Please voice your opposition to capturing Keiko from the
wild and moving him to the Miami Seaquarium. Tell the National
Marine Fisheries Services to deny the permit to import Keiko
into the United States. Write to:
Gene Nitta, Director of Protected Resources
National Marine Fisheries Services
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910
301-713-2289
Fax: 301-713-0376
E-mail: gene.nitta@noaa.gov
You can also support Keiko:
Donate to
the Keiko Project.
