“Free Willy” star still far from free, keepers say Reykjavik, Iceland

The people caring for Keiko, the movie star killer whale, said Thursday they have given up trying to free him to the open sea by the summer’s end. Other locations for the whale, now in a pen off southern Iceland, are being considered, said Hallur Hallsson, Icelandic spokesman for the California based Ocean Futures Society. He said chances of releasing the whale to the wild were beginning to dim and “we are looking for a permanent home for Keiko where he will be cared for into old age.” But in California, Charles Vinick, the society’s executive vice president, said they have not given up on their goal of freeing Keiko.
“Reintroduction for summer 2001 has ended,” Vinick said. “We are now evaluating what can be done in the future.” Keiko, who starred in the 1993 film “Free Willy,” will remain in the Westman Islands for the time being, Hallsson said. The whale has not joined a pod of wild orcas as his keepers had hoped he would. And some handlers aren’t sure he will ever become fully independent of humans. Ideally, the whale will find a permanent home in Iceland, Hallsson said. Discussions are already under way with civic authorities in Keflavik in the south and Husavik in the north.

“These towns are both whale watching centers in Iceland so Keiko would be in good company,” said Hallsson, adding that a site in Ireland is also under consideration. Keiko, which means “Lucky One” in Japanese, was captured in Icelandic waters in 1979 when he was around 2 years old. He was sold to Reino Aventura amusement park in 1985 for $350,000. “Free Willy” and a sequel three years later helped spark a campaign to free Keiko. In September 1998, Keiko was moved to his pen at Klettsvik Bay in the Westman Islands and for the past three years attempts have been made to reintroduce him into the wild.
Caring for Keiko – including staging sea trials with pods of wild killer whales – cost $3 million a year, Hallsson said. About 30 people care for the whale, and during more than 60 trips out of his pen this summer, he was accompanied by a chartered fishing vessel, two support boats and a helicopter. Ocean Futures has said an anonymous donor has pledged $1 million, contingent on raising matching donations in the same amount. Local enthusiasm for Keiko has cooled because he failed to attract as many tourists as the community hoped.