The plan to return him to the wild was a topic of much controversy. His weight had increased significantly by June 1997, to 9,620 pounds (4364 kg). On arrival in Oregon in 1996, Keiko was housed in a new (2,000,000 US gallons (7,600,000 l)) concrete enclosure containing seawater, his first experience with this medium. Weighing about 7,700 pounds (3493 kg), he was transported by air in a C-130 Hercules loaned by UPS during the flight, the orca was in a 30 foot long transfer tank filled with sea water and cooled occasionally with ice cubes. Before he left the amusement park in Mexico, Keiko performed for the public for the last time. UPS provided ground transportation to the nearby Newport Municipal Airport in a specialized container. Reino Aventura donated Keiko to the Foundation. With donations from the foundation and millions of school children, the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, Oregon, US was given over $7 million to construct facilities to return him to health with the hope of eventually returning him to the wild.
Warner Brothers and Craig McCaw led to the establishment of the Free Willy-Keiko Foundation in February 1995.
Outcry for Keiko's liberation arose from the film containing a phone number for whale preservations receiving countless recipients. Some of the content was filmed at Reino Aventura and the rest in Mexico City. The pool for the now 21-foot-long killer whale was only 22 feet deep, 65 feet wide and 114 feet long (1,130,390 US gallons (4,279,000 l)), and the water temperature was often too warm. The publicity from his role in the popular film led to an effort by Warner Bros. Keiko was found by film scouts at the run-down park and became the star of the film Free Willy in 1993. At the time, he was only 10 feet long and was housed at the Mexican facility in a tank intended for smaller dolphins. He was transported to Mexico via cargo plane from the Northwest Territories. There, he was given the name " Keiko", a feminine Japanese name that means "lucky one". Keiko was then sold to Reino Aventura, an amusement park (now present day Six Flags) in Mexico City, in 1985.
At this new facility, the whale first started performing for the public and developed skin lesions indicative of poor health and was also bullied by older killer whales. In 1982, he was sold to Marineland in, Ontario, Canada. At the time, he was named Siggi, with the name Kago given at a later date. Keiko was captured near Reyðarfjörður, Iceland in 1979 at the approximate age of two and sold to the Icelandic aquarium in Hafnarfjörður. 5 Evaluation of the re-introduction process.
Through first hand accounts by those who were there every day, the film follows Keiko, his life, his legacy, and the untold story of his extraordinary years of ‘freedom’ in Iceland and Norway where he thrived before his death in 2003. The film takes the viewer on Keiko’s journey, explores his strong will to survive, and enjoys his enormous embrace of his own freedom. This is the amazing story of what actually happened with Keiko. When that didn’t happen, the media walked away and called the effort a failure. So it was quite a jolt when his fans discovered that, unlike his fictional counterpart, Keiko was not free.Įveryone hoped that Keiko would find his family and live happily ever after. Giving an astonishing performance, Keiko swam straight into the hearts of millions of school children and adults around the world upon the debut of Free Willy in July 1993. –Jennie Lew Tugend, Producer of “Free Willy” Keiko is an ambassador of freedom to all marine animals in captivity.” “KEIKO THE UNTOLD STORY” gives dignity and insight into the journey of the world’s most famous Orca. Really unfortunate that they don’t know what really happened to him.” “There were so many people who fell in love with Keiko and I think it’s From capture to stardom to rehabilitation, from seapen to daily outings with caretakers, experience how Keiko gained over 3000 lbs, mixed it up with wild orcas, and even exhibited physical signs of attempts to mate, all the while thriving in the waters of his birth. Watch how Keiko, the orca star of the hit film Free Willy, became the first captive orca to be successfully returned to his ocean.