Keiko Moves to Wider Waters

Earth Island Journal, Spring, 2000 by Mark Berman

Keiko, the orca star of Free Willy fame, continues his journey toward freedom. September 10, 1999 marked the first anniversary of Keiko's arrival in the cold waters of Iceland's Westman Islands. With each passing day, Keiko is behaving more like a wild orca. He has adapted well to the local tides, winds, storms, and the environment. Keiko is eating nearly half of his daily feed as live fish. The other half is thrown into the water. (To discourage Keiko from associating humans with food, he is no longer fed by hand.) Keiko is chasing birds that land in his bay pen and spending much of his time underwater.

Blood tests show that Keiko is free of pathogens. Most orcas develop higher levels of pathogens in captivity. Iceland's clear, cold waters seem to have been the best medicine for all of Keiko's medical problems.

Wild orcas have been seen within one-to-two miles of Keiko's bay pen. Last June, a small pod of orcas visited Keiko near the sea-pen enclosure. The wild orcas seemed to be communicating with Keiko. This is an important development since Keiko eventually must be able to rejoin a wild pod to survive as a free whale.

Genetic and photo identification studies of the local wild orca populations are giving researchers new information about population numbers, behaviors and health. This research may even help identify surviving members of Keiko's long-lost family.

Last December, Keiko was released into a larger ocean pen covering one million square feet. The installation of a fence across the mouth of the bay has given Keiko an opportunity to explore the bottom of the bay and chase schools of herring. Keiko now is experiencing wild space on a scale he has not known since he was violently taken from his mother's side at the age of two.

There are times when Keiko actually disappears from the view of his human caretakers. This is a step needed before Keiko can be released to the open ocean. When that happens, Keiko will become the first captive orca to be rehabilitated and reintroduced into native waters.

While this is important as a scientific venture, it is also important as a moral gesture. After visiting so much devastation on the world's marine mammals, it is our moral obligation to give back to the wild this magnificent and intelligent mammal.

[For updates and more information, visit the IMMP website: earthisland.org/immp.]