Superstring 0 Report post Posted December 13, 2003 CNN.com link OSLO, Norway (AP) -- Keiko, the killer whale made famous by the "Free Willy" movies, has died in Norwegian coastal waters where he remained after millions of dollars and a decade of work failed to coax him back to the open sea, his caretakers said early Saturday. The whale, who was 27, died Friday afternoon after the sudden onset of pneumonia in the Taknes fjord. He was old for an orca in captivity, though wild orca live an average of 35 years. David Phillips, executive director of the San Francisco-based Free Willy-Keiko Foundation, said Keiko had been in good health but started showing signs of lethargy and loss of appetite on Thursday. "This is a long sad day for us," Phillips said. One of his handlers, Dale Richards, also said Keiko died quickly. "We checked his respiration rate and it was a little irregular ... he wasn't doing too well," Richards told The Associated Press. "Early in the evening, he passed away." Keiko -- which means "Lucky One" in Japanese -- was captured in Iceland in 1979 and sold to the marine park industry. Starting in 1993, the six-ton, 35-foot-long mammal starred in three "Free Willy" movies, a heartwarming box-office franchise from Warner Brothers in which sympathetic humans help set a long-captive killer whale free. The drive for the real-life reintroduction of the movies' star started after he was found ailing in a Mexico City aquarium. The project -- to reintegrate Keiko with a pod of wild killer whales -- cost more than $20 million and stirred interest and ire worldwide. Keiko was rehabilitated at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, then airlifted to Iceland in 1998. His handlers there prepared him for the wild, teaching him to catch live fish in an operation that cost about $500,000 a month. That amount recently paid for a year of care, Phillips said. Keiko was released from Iceland in July 2002, but he swam straight for Norway on an 870-mile trek that seemed to be a search for human companionship. He first turned up near the village of Halsa in late August or early September of 2002. There, he allowed fans to pet and play with him, even crawl on his back, becoming such an attraction that animal protection authorities imposed a ban on approaching him. Keiko lived in Taknes Bay, a clear, calm pocket of coastal water deep enough that it doesn't freeze in winter. Keepers fed him there, but he was free to roam and did, often at night. He was equipped with a VHF tracking device that let his four handlers pinpoint his location provided he stayed within a range of about five miles. Keiko's keepers said the whale seemed to adapt to living in the wild despite so many years in captivity, learning to slap his tail and do jumps called side breaches that are typically done to stun fish. To keep Keiko in shape, his caretakers took him on "walks," leading him around the fjords from a small boat at least three times a week. Nick Braden, a spokesman of the Humane Society of the United States, said veterinarians gave Keiko antibiotics after he showed signs of lethargy Thursday, but it wasn't apparent how sick he was. "They really do die quickly and there was nothing we could do," he said. Braden said "it's a really sad moment for us, but we do believe we gave him a chance to be in the wild." - $20 Million for a overgrown fish & they didn't even manage to get him out to sea. It just blows my mind that because of a film people suddenly felt like this one whale became special and that he had to try and get freed for real. I was all for getting him out of that little cage he had originally but then it had to get taken a little further. Morons Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1234-5678 0 Report post Posted December 13, 2003 Well, I won't be shedding any tears today. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted December 13, 2003 I'll be shedding more tears for this whale than I do for a good number of the people whose deaths we announce on this board. RIP Willy -- hope you had a good one... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Anglesault Report post Posted December 13, 2003 I'll be shedding more tears for this whale than I do for a good number of the people whose deaths we announce on this board. RIP Willy -- hope you had a good one... Ditto Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ravenbomb 0 Report post Posted December 13, 2003 so...does this count towards the "it comes in 3's" thing? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Cerebus Report post Posted December 13, 2003 i guess Air Bud is next on the chopping block in that case... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ravenbomb 0 Report post Posted December 13, 2003 Noooooooooooo! Not Air Bud! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrRant 0 Report post Posted December 13, 2003 And all those treehugging motherfuckers killed Willy too. It was happy in captivity. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
King Kamala 0 Report post Posted December 13, 2003 Noooooooooooo! Not Air Bud! The first Air Bud (The one in the first two) actually had to have his leg amputated due to cancer and died in 99 or so. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest JMA Report post Posted December 13, 2003 And all those treehugging motherfuckers killed Willy too. It was happy in captivity. Ironic, considering the movie "Free Willy" was about releasing the whale from captivity. Anyway, RIP Keiko. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted December 13, 2003 And all those treehugging motherfuckers killed Willy too. It was happy in captivity. My guess is that Ol' Willy was happiest when just hanging around in that Bay -- it had to be better than being stuck in that tank... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EdwardKnoxII 0 Report post Posted December 14, 2003 The theme song for Free Wily, Will You Be There by Michael Jackson Hold me, like the river jordan And I will then say to thee You re my friend Carry me, like you are my brother Love me like a mother Will you be there… Weary, tell me will you hold me When wrong, will you hold me When lost will you find me? But they told me a man should be faithful And walk when not able And fight till the end but I'm only human (instru.) Everyone taking control of me Seems that the world's Got a role for me I'm so confused Will you should to me you'll be there for me And care enough to bear me (Hold me) (lay your head lowly) (Softly then boldly) (carry me there) (Hold me) (love me and feed me) (Kiss me and free me) (I will feel blessed) (Carry) (carry me boldly) (life me up slowly) (Carry me there) (save me) (heal me and bathe me) (Softly you say to me) (I will be there) (Life me) (lift me up slowly) (Carry me blodly) (show me you care) (Hold me) (lay your head lowly) (Softly then boldly) (carry me there) (Need me) (love me and feed me) (Kiss me and free me) (I will feel blessed) Spoken : in our darkest hour in my deepest despair Will you still care? will you be there In my taials and my tribulations Through our doubts and frustrations In my violenceln my turbulence Through my fear and my cconfessions In my anguish and my pain Through my joy and my sorrow In the promise of another tomorrow I'l never let you part for you're always in my heart Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spiny norman 0 Report post Posted December 14, 2003 Will You Be There was the theme to Free Willy? Are you sure? I thought it was Childhood. Oh yeah, sadness and stuff. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EdwardKnoxII 0 Report post Posted December 14, 2003 Childhood was the theme to Free Willy 2. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Internet Warfare 0 Report post Posted December 14, 2003 Actually, the whale was so starved for attention that he went out of his way to find people to interact with. By all accounts he was happy in Oregon. Poor thing died less than 2 years in the wild. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
