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Keiko

Keiko is a 23 year old Icelandic male. He was captured in November of 1979, in Iceland. After capture, he, along with 4 other whales recently captured were sent to a tiny Aquarium in Iceland. There he was named Siggi, and his basic training began. After a month in Iceland, the 4 whales were shipped to Marineland of Canada, with King, the youngest male, taking a short detour in Germany along the way. Once in Canada, the whales were finally named: Siggi was changed to Kago, and King, Calen, and Noni were named.

Soon after arriving, Calen and King were shipped to Kamogawa Sea World, leaving Keiko with Noni, Nootka (Knootka), and Kandu(ke). Nootka and Kanduke, older, very aggressive animals, tormented Kago. He performed well, but he was in constant states of uncertainty. A few years after arrival at Marineland, Keiko was sold to Reina Aventura, a Mexican amusement park. There he was placed alone in a small, warm pool, with only a few Dolphins for company. At that point, he was renamed again, this time to Keiko.

Keiko languished at Renia Aventura for years. Though he loved and trusted his trainers, he soon developed multiple health problems. Skin lesions covered his pecs, dorsal, and tail. And multiple bacterial infections caused repeated torment. Keiko developed into a mature bull, but a very small, weak one.

In the 1990's, Keiko got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He was cast as the title role of a movie called "Free Willy". He played an abused whale who pines for his family, and is eventually released. The movie was released, and was a huge hit. But soon after, fans learned that the whale who had leapt happily to freedom remained in the tiny tank. After many people contributed millions, Renia Aventura donated him to the Free Willy/Keiko foundation, who relocated him to the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

There, the weak, underweight whale slowly began to recover. His skin problems cleared, and he gained 2,000 pounds and nearly 2 feet in length. He went through retraining, and learned to catch a few fish, though he'd only do it in exchange for a dead fish, and insisted on returning the live fish to his handlers.

After several years in Oregon, Keiko was flown to Iceland, to a specially designed pen. There, he continued to learn survival skills, though reluctantly, and was allowed to swim in an enclosed bay a few times. Ocean Futures, the name chosen for the company after a merger between the Free Willy/Keiko foundation and another group, attached a radio tag to Keiko's dorsal fin, and begun taking him on Ocean Walks. On these walks, Keiko was trained to fallow a boat around in the open ocean. He occasionally ran into wild Orcas, and interacted with them for a few brief moments.

Still, Keiko would not take steps to go free. After another winter in Iceland, Keiko's walks began again. This time, they were more and less successful. Keiko did take initiative to separate from the boat, once staying away for 7 days. However he continued to return, and worse, sought out interactions with people out in boats in Iceland. And, he refused to catch fish. He'd catch them, and them bring them to the trainers. When Ocean Futures attempted to stop feeding him, Keiko allowed himself to be starved rather than forage on his own.

Today, Keiko's future remains uncertain. He'll remain in Iceland, but its unlikely Ocean Futures will attempt to release him again. Likely, they'll find a permanent bay pen for him on another part of the Island.