VESTMANNAEYJAR, ICELAND – With stories about whales such as
Springer the orphaned orca making news from coast to coast,
many are left wondering about the fate of the world’s most
famous whale, Keiko. The star of the feature film Free Willy is
spending more time than ever before in the open ocean off the
coast of Iceland, where attempts to return him to the wild are
heating up as wild orcas who are likely relatives of Keiko make
their annual visit to the area.
The Free Willy/Keiko Foundation, The Humane Society of the
United States (HSUS) and others launched the effort to free
Keiko in 1994. The HSUS has been managing and funding the Keiko
Project since June and is working closely with Ocean Futures
and the Free Willy/Keiko Foundation on the day to day
management of the Keiko Project. Ocean Futures and the Free
Willy/Keiko Foundation are looking to The HSUS to take the lead
on the Keiko Project because of The HSUS’ scientific expertise,
depth of knowledge on animal protection issues and
institutional stability.
Each summer, Keiko makes incremental progress towards
fulfilling the goal of reducing and eventually eliminating his
dependence on people. Since he was first led out to the open
ocean from the bay that is his winter home, Keiko has indicated
interest in the wild whales. “Keiko picked up where he left off
last summer,” said Charles Vinick, executive vice president of
the Ocean Futures Society and manager of the Keiko Project for
The HSUS. “He is choosing to spend all his time with the wild
whale pods, staying near them as they mill about and traveling
with them when they travel.” Keiko’s progress has experts
wondering if this is the year that he goes truly free.
Unlike in the summer of 2001 when Keiko would spend brief
periods of time with wild whales, this summer Keiko has chosen
to spend almost all his time with the wild whales. “Keiko is in
charge,” said Vinick, “he has the option of swimming away from
our boats and staying near whales. This year he has surprised
us by spending almost all of the last three weeks with wild
whales.”
Dr. Naomi Rose, The HSUS’ marine mammal scientist, recently
returned from a visit to see Keiko in Iceland. “We’re very
encouraged by his progress and hope to build on it in the
future,” said Rose. “This is an unprecedented effort to return
a long-term captive whale to the wild. We can’t say for sure
what the outcome will be, but we’re committed to the goal of
independence and freedom for Keiko.”
Keiko is traveling as much as 100 miles a day with the
whales. Throughout much of July, the wild orca were feeding in
one area during the day, traveling at night and returning to
the same area each day. The reintroduction team that has been
tracking Keiko with a VHF radio signal and with a satellite tag
report that Keiko followed the same pattern as the wild whales.
The tracking vessel, which is generally two or more miles from
Keiko, has observed that Keiko is frequently 50 to 200 meters
from the wild whales and “shadows” their movements in ways that
indicate he is becoming more acclimated to them.
Earlier in July, Keiko voluntarily returned to Klettsvik
Bay, the location of his sea pen, from his first trip out to
the ocean. After checking him out thoroughly and making some
tag adjustments, the team fed Keiko to lead him back to the
location where wild whales were congregating. Almost
immediately, Keiko separated from the walk boat and again began
to follow the whales.
“We know that Keiko is able to keep up with the wild whales
during this season when they are remaining close to the Westman
Islands,” said Rose. “Keiko appears to listen to the
vocalizations of the wild whales and follows them on their
daily travels. Now, he is beginning to intermingle with some of
the wild whales. In the days ahead we will watch to see if he
continues to socialize and begins to forage with them.”
Keiko, which means “Lucky One” in Japanese, was captured in
Icelandic waters more than 22 years ago at the age of two.
Taken to perform in the marine park industry, Keiko was first
sent to Canada for a few years and then transported to Mexico
City, Mexico where he became the only killer whale to perform
in Mexico or Central America. Languishing in an inadequate
facility, Keiko nevertheless became the star of the hit film
Free Willy and the world learned of his plight. Over a million
individuals, including many children, sent an outpouring of
letters, emails, drawings and donations demanding that he be
set free. Through the efforts of the Humane Society of the
United States, the Free Willy/Keiko Foundation and Ocean
Futures Society and with help from thousands of donors
throughout the world, the Keiko reintroduction program
continues in Iceland.
“I think the Keiko project continues to provide extremely
important data on the process of releasing whales from
captivity,” said Paul G. Irwin, HSUS president, who has been
part of this rescue effort from the beginning. “Clearly, had we
not intervened he would have died in Mexico. Bringing him back
into his home waters was a long process. We’ve accomplished
what most people said was impossible, and almost everyone
agrees that Keiko continues to learn, move ahead, and become
more wild.”
The HSUS is dedicated to protecting all animals through
legislation, education, investigation, litigation, advocacy and
field work. The HSUS has active programs protecting wildlife,
companion animals, farm animals and animals in research. The
HSUS is headquartered in Washington, DC and has 10 regional
offices.
NOTE: Recent video footage and photographs of Keiko are
available. Contact HSUS Media Relations at 301-258-8255 for
more information.
