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Keiko was the real-life orca whale star of the hit movie “Free Willy.” He was living in very poor conditions in a small tank in Mexico City. Free Willy moviemakers Warner Brothers approached us to lead the historic effort to help rescue Keiko.
We formed the Free Willy/Keiko Foundation to spearhead Keiko’s rescue. We built a state-of-the-art rescue, rehabilitation facility at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, Oregon, where Keiko was flown to bring him back to health. Once healthy, Keiko was then flown to a large ocean sea pen in his home waters of Iceland. There, he eventually left his pen and swam in the open Atlantic often accompanied by wild whales. Keiko was the first captive orca whale ever returned to his home waters, a historic first. He lived out his life free of the stresses and dangers of life in a concrete tank. We continue to tell the Keiko’s real life story and how the retirement, rescue and possible release or orcas and dolphins can work.
The whale captivity industry has steadfastly blocked all efforts to allow the retirement and potential release of any captive dolphins or whales. They fail to mention their own refusal to help Keiko when he was sick in Mexico or how 17 captive orcas died during the time Keiko was rehabbed and released. Other captive orcas and dolphins may be candidates for rehab and release. We’re keeping Keiko’s legacy alive to help guide future efforts.
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David Phillips, August 28, 2015
SeaWorld, the Miami Seaquarium, and their paid media flaks regularly bash the Keiko rescue effort and denigrate all efforts to rescue, retire, or release cetaceans back to the wild.
Their false narrative claims that Keiko's death more than 7 years after release from his captive tank in Mexico is proof positive that all the whales and dolphins they hold in captivity should remain there for the rest of their lives.
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The first permanent sea sanctuary for whales and dolphins could be located in Vancouver, British Columbia, according to marine mammal experts who are also still considering other locations. Interest in establishing a sea sanctuary for former captive cetaceans is ramping up, with a workshop on the matter to be held in December at the Society for Marine Mammalogy biennial conference in San Francisco.
Keiko's amazing odyssey from a cramped tank in Mexico to his home waters in Iceland
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Photographs and information about Keiko, a booklet on history and habitat of orcas, a Mystical Whale Pendant replica of the one worn by Jesse in Free Willy 2, a full-color orca poster, a personalized orca adoption certificate, and a special photo of Keiko in Norway.
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Keiko was given a chance that no other captive orca has ever had...the chance to go back to his original home waters.
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