Once he leaves the safety of the enclosure, Keiko will be able to use his echolocation sense, or whale sonar, to see acoustically into the deep nooks and crannies of a glacier-carved fjord. It will be like hiking into the Grand Canyon after living your life in Iowa. So perhaps the most dramatic moment in his life will be Keiko's first contact with wild whales. A pod of orcas frolics off of Tysfjord in Norway. Some whale observers conjecture that there will be considerable curiosity on both sides.
Vocalization is primarily a social behavior for orcas.
Just as we think a man who walks down the street talking to himself is a bit nutty, so wild whales may wonder about Keiko talking to no one in particular. Keiko will no doubt be excited to hear other orcas for the first time in 12 years. If a wild pod recognizes his replies as similar to their own dialect, they may wonder who's calling. Even if there is an initial language barrier, Nolan hopes that because Keiko is a talented mimic, he will learn to communicate with the resident whales. In fact, Pacific and Atlantic killer whales kept together in captivity have been able to understand each other well enough to mate successfully.