|
'Free Willy' Killer Whale Star Keiko Dies at
27 |
|
Sat Dec 13, 7:16 AM ET |
|
By Inger Sethov
OSLO (Reuters) - Keiko the killer whale, star of the "Free Willy" movies, has died at 27 of pneumonia in a Norwegian fjord, ending campaigners' hopes of returning the people-loving mammal to life in the wild.
|
||||||||
The world's most famous orca, a magnet for tourists who spent most of his life in captivity, died about 15 months after turning up in Norwegian waters, officials said on Saturday.
Millions of dollars was spent on preparing the 30-foot animal for the wild after the 1993 movie "Free Willy" prompted a campaign for his release, but Keiko never rejoined killer whale company.
Margrete Seter, mayor of Halsa municipality in western Norway which has been Keiko's home since he surprisingly turned up there in September last year, said the giant mammal had been found floating on the surface of the sea late on Friday.
"It's terribly sad," Seter told Reuters. "We had been hoping to have him around for many more years." Killer whales can live to around 35.
The Hollywood star, a big tourist draw in Halsa, had shown signs of lethargy and lack of appetite just before he died, said the Free Willy Keiko Foundation, which has headed the campaign to free Keiko.
Trainers had hoped to lure Keiko back into deep waters to readjust him to a life in the wild -- the life from which he was removed when he was only two years old. After spending most of his life in marine amusement parks in Canada and Mexico, the six-ton animal was flown back to Iceland in a U.S. Air Force jet in 1998.
SURPRISE
Keiko showed up in western Norway -- the only nation in the world that still hunts whales commercially -- in September last year after swimming some 870 miles from Iceland. He had stayed in Taknes bay since last winter, monitored and fed by his handlers in an area sealed off to boat traffic.
"Rescuing Keiko from a cramped pool in Mexico and bringing him back to his home waters is the most spectacular effort ever launched for an animal," David Phillips, president and founder of the Keiko Foundation, said in a statement.
"Keiko was a champion, the most incredible whale," he said.
When he arrived in Norway pictures of the playful orca -- even allowing children to ride on his back -- went worldwide, sparking a new debate over Keiko's future.
Some pro-whaling activists in Norway reckoned there was no hope for Keiko in the wild and urged the United States to take him back to captivity.
Among Keiko's many supporters, French celebrity animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot (news) wrote an open letter to Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit, begging her to help save Keiko.
An official at the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries said sea mammals would normally be buried at sea but Norway might consider burying Keiko on land if his handlers wanted this.
"We will listen to their demands," Directorate spokesman Olav Lekve told Reuters. "We understand that Keiko is special."
The Keiko Foundation said Keiko had been the second oldest male orca whale in captivity.
_______________________________________________ Sndbox mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://a8.mewebdns-a8.com/mailman/listinfo/sndbox_sandboxmail.net
