Keiko

Keiko in Iceland. Photo provided by Blue Planet Archive.

Keiko *(pronounced KAY-ko)* was an approximately 26-year-old male Icelandic killer whale who was captured near Ingólfshöfði *(EENG-ohls-hovu-thi)*, south-east Iceland, on November 5th, 1979, alongside another male killer whale later named King.  He is famous for his starring role as “Willy“ in the movie *Free Willy*. He was also one of the only killer whales to be rehabilitated and released after living in captivity for an extended period of time. Keiko passed away due to acute pneumonia in Taknes Bay, Norway, on December 12th, 2003. He is arguably one of the most famous marine mammals, and played a big role in the childhoods of many. Both Keiko’s true and fictional stories continue to inspire people in the modern day.

## Capture and Early Life

    Keiko was born sometime around 1978 in the waters of the north Atlantic. On November 5th, 1979, Keiko, alongside another young male later named King,  were captured near Ingólfshöfði off the south-eastern coast of Iceland, by the Icelandic fishing vessel Guðrún.  The pair arrived at the Hafnarfjörður Aquarium the following day.  There, they were introduced to two other killer whales who had been captured earlier that year, Kiska and Dzul-ha. It was there that Keiko was also given the name "Siggi", after the fisherman's son Siggi Kalla. In the weeks following Keiko's capture, two more killer whales arrived at the aquarium: an unnamed female who arrived less than 2 weeks later, and then on November 19th another female named Caren.

Even before the whales had been captured, Marineland of Canada had already purchased five of them, and had plans to move the whales to their park by December 1st. On November 30th, Kiska, Caren, Keiko and the unnamed female were loaded onto a plane and flown across the Atlantic ocean to Ontario, Canada. While King was supposed to go with them, his transport was delayed until December 11th.

## Life in Canada

Upon arrival, the Icelandic whales were moved to a holding pool. At the time Marineland already had killer whales living in their park, two Bigg's killer whales named Kanduke and Nootka, but they were in a separate habitat and were not immediately introduced to the newcomers. A few months later, sometime in January, the unnamed female passed away from acute enterotoxaemia. Only a few weeks after that, both King and Caren were sent to Kamogawa Sea World, leaving just Keiko and Kiska at Marineland. At Marineland, Kiska's name was changed from Agnes to Kiska, and Keiko's was changed from Siggi to Kago.

Sometime in the following months, possibly around June, Keiko and Kiska were moved to King Waldorf Stadium, where Kanduke and Nootka were being kept. The two young whales were trained and quickly began to perform.  Keiko, the youngest and smallest killer whale at the park, was reportedly bullied by the other whales.

At some point while Keiko was living at Marineland, he was infected with some form of papillomarivus, and began to develop skin lesions.

## Life in Mexico

In 1985, Keiko was sold to Reino Aventura, a theme park in Mexico, for about $350,000.  On February 16th, Keiko arrived at his new home. As "Kago" had inappropriate connotations in Spanish, he was once again renamed, this time to Keiko.

### Free Willy

In 1993, Keiko was found by film scouts and became the star of "Free Willy" a movie about a young boy who befriends a killer whale named "Willy" and frees him from a marine park. Keiko became world-famous for his role, and his story kickstarted the movement that would eventually bring him back home to Iceland. Michael Jackson, a famous singer and pop idol, sent representatives to Reino Aventura hoping to acquire Keiko for his Neverland ranch but, after learning about Keiko's declining health and the cost of the medical bills that would follow, Jackson ultimately decided against it.  The publicity from the film led to efforts by Warner Bros. Studios to find Keiko a better home and thus The Free Willy-Keiko Foundation, a foundation created to help Keiko find his new home, was created in 1995. With donations from the foundation and millions of children around the world the Oregon Coast Aquarium was able to construct a brand new facility specially made for Keiko that would cater to his needs and bring him back to good health. With the help of the U.S Air Force and UPS, Keiko arrived at his new home in Oregon on January 7th, 1996.

## Life in Oregon

After he arrived at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Keiko's health improved drastically. He gained a substantial amount of weight and his skin lesions started clearing up.  This was also Keiko's first encounter with natural seawater since his capture in 1979. Keiko became the star attraction at the aquarium and people from all over the country visited the aquarium just to see the famous whale in person. However, his stay at the Oregon Aquarium could only be temporary as the ultimate goal for Keiko was to bring him back to perfect health so he could be released into the wild.

### Rehabilitation

Keiko started his rehabilitation process the moment he arrived in Oregon. He needed to be in perfect health for him to not only handle the 3,700-mile journey back home safely but also so that he could hopefully eventually be released into the wild. Keiko's rehabilitation process consisted of teaching him how to hold his breath longer, as he could only hold his breath for up to 3 minutes due to the shallowness of his tank at Reino Aventura. Keiko also did physical exercise sessions and was taught how to hunt for his own, live fish. Natural elements were also installed into his Oregon tank such as crabs, seaweed, fish, and a wave machine that simulated natural waves. Keiko's rehabilitation in Oregon was successful, and the plan to return him into the wild began on September 9th, 1998, when he was flown back to his home in Iceland.

## Coming Home

Keiko arrived in Klettsvík, a secluded bay in Vestmannaeyjar, an archipelago off of the south coast of Iceland, on September 9th, 1998, after having travelled for over eight hours and flown over 3,000 miles by cargo plane from Oregon.  Keiko travelled in a custom-built box filled with water and ice, and upon arrival, his care became the full responsibility of the Free Willy-Keiko Foundation with assistance from the Ocean Futures Society. Keiko's new home was a sea pen the size of a football field. In his new home, Keiko's caretakers attempted to teach him to become more independent and less accustomed to humans, but he always seemed to prefer the company of people. As a part of his reintroduction plan, Keiko's caretakers would take him on "walks" in the open ocean, where Keiko was taught to follow a boat with his caretakers on board so he could experience the ocean and its stimulation.

### Release

On July 15th, 2002, Keiko had become well adapted to his new environment in the sea-pen and the decision was made to finally release him into the wild. Keiko left Icelandic waters in early August 2002 and could sometimes be seen following other killer whale pods, though he never integrated into one. His journey was tracked by a satellite tag attached to his dorsal fin. A month later, Keiko showed up in Skålvik Fjord in Norway seeking out human contact, allowing children to swim with him and ride on his back. His caretakers assumed that Keiko had been feeding himself during this 900-mile journey as girth measurements and blood tests showed signs of him feeding.  Eventually, the general public was banned from interacting with Keiko in hopes that he would become more independent and less reliant on humans. His caretakers in Iceland relocated to Norway and began taking Keiko for walks in the open ocean once again.

## Death

In December of 2003, Keiko showed up in Taknes bay, Norway. He was reportedly exhibiting lethargy, irregular respirations, and a lack of appetite,  and on the morning of December 12th, 2003, Keiko had beached himself. Keiko passed away the same day from what was believed to be acute pneumonia.  He was buried on the shore the weekend after in a quiet ceremony that was kept a secret from the public. The Oregon Coast Aquarium held a memorial service for Keiko on February 20th, 2004, where around 700 people showed up to honor Keiko.

## Trivia

* Upon landing in the Westman Islands, Keiko's aircraft suffered landing gear failure, though Keiko was unharmed.
* Keiko had two names before he was named Keiko. At first, he was named "Siggi," an Icelandic name given to him by fishermen that roughly translates to "victory" or "peace." He was also named "Kago."
* Keiko's name means "the lucky one" in Japanese.

## Gallery

* **Photos** of Keiko
* **Videos** of Keiko

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Verðið lækkar um 3,9 millj. á dýr"
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The Icelandic live-capture fishery for killer whales, 1976-1988"
3. ↑ "JUST GETTING AQUAINTED", Niagara Falls Review, Date Unknown (June 1980?)
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Keiko's Life Story"
5. ↑ THE WEIRDISH WORLD OF KEIKO, POP ICON
6. ↑ Whale Star Of `Free Willy' Film Arrives Via UPS -- Crowds Of Parents, Kids Greet Keiko On His Way To Oregon Coast Aquarium
7. ↑ USA: OREGON: KILLER WHALE KEIKO IS DOING WELL IN HIS NEW HOME.
8. ↑ Iceland Welcomes ‘Free Willy’ Whale
9. ↑ Kvaddur með tárum.
10. ↑ From Captivity to the Wild and Back: An Attempt to Release Keiko the Killer Whale. (*M. Simon, M. B. Hanson et al*)
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Remember Keiko? Many fondly remember him as Free Willy. We fell in love with this massive whale on screen.
12. ↑ Keiko the killer whale dies.
13. ↑ Keiko by Eric A. Kimmel.