Killer whale Keiko dies of pneumonia | Seattle P-I

[Ediacara]

Friday, December 12, 2003 · Last updated 8:24 p.m. PT

Killer whale Keiko dies of pneumonia

By DOUG MELLGREN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

OSLO, Norway -- 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 showed 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."

More at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

[sandnsea]

1. ooohh

Keiko. I live 40 miles from Newport. We love Keiko. This is so sad. But at least he got to be sort of free in his last days.

[slinkerwink]

2. awwwwww

:-(

[Gloria]

3. Peace, Keiko....

Head for the open sea....

[proud patriot]

4. I can't help but cry for Keiko

:-( Your free now :-)

[chasqui]

11. Give me a break!

Don't tell me that this ruins your day?

[Darth_Kitten]

12. Sad things usually do?

:eyes:

[proud patriot]

15. One break coming up

While some are not as sensitive as others are to
the death of this Whale . I am for various reasons ,
This whale through the movie "Free Willy" Turned on
a whole Generation of Children to Animal Rights .
I'm conflicted with the use of Wild creatures for
Entertianment purposes .

I have so many mixed emotions Sad and Happy Keiko
is a peace now and free . Some guilt for enjoying
the movie and going to places like Marine World .

[BiggJawn]

16. Why, no, it doesn't.

Now, my local Breadsmith didn't have any Rye bread today. THAT has me sticking my head in the oven with the pilot light out...

Obviously NOT an "animal person", are you?

[DS1]

17. Cynanided any police dogs recently?

Animal person?

[Piperay]

5. R-I-P Keiko

this is very sad. :cry:

[1971]

6. Very very sad.... and READ THIS

Mr Phillips said it had still not been decided whether he should be buried on land or at sea.

"My preference would be to bury him on land," he said.

"If you bury him on land we could still recover his skeleton and that might have some value in a museum or something, but that is still being worked out."

BBC News UK Edition
Last Updated: Saturday, 13 December, 2003, 04:58 GMT
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/3315519.stm


Burying Keiko on land would seem to be an insult to his free life in the sea.

I think Keiko should have a "burial at sea".


If people want to write or call Phillips, here is the info off the Free Willy-Keiko Foundation website:

Keiko.com
http://www.keiko.com/about_us.html

David Phillips
Director
Free Willy Keiko Foundation
300 Broadway, Suite 28
San Francisco, CA 94133 USA
[phone]

[roguevalley]

7. saw him in Newport. What a wonderful spirit. We should all be ashamed

of ourselves the way we treat the earth and her creatures.

RIP honey. Hope you find peace you didn't get here.

[pinniped]

8. Sad.=(

Can we get a Killer whale (Orcinus orca) user pic?

[baby_bear]

9. Such beautiful and intelligent creatures

Visit http://www.orcalab.org/

s_m

[GCP]

10. Yes, they are beautiful, but totally ruthless

I saw a documentary recently which showed a hump-back (I think) whale mother and her new calf slowly heading up the coast of California to the feeding grounds in Alaska. They were going slow because she had to swim at the calf's speed.
A pod of hump-back whales were following them in silence, no sonar, so the mother and calf were unaware they were being stalked.
The pod caught up with the mother and calf and proceeded to attack the calf relentlessly, it desperately tried to stay afloat while they tried to drown it, the mother couldn't keep them away.
In the end the calf drowned, and the pod just ate the lower jaw and tongue of the calf before leaving its carcase to rot.
Nature is red in tooth and claw, and killer whales are killers.
They're beautiful in the way that tigers and lions etc are beautiful, and they shouldn't be caged and made into entertainment for our benefit.

But that film put me off them a little bit.

[Barrett808]

19. Ever seen orcas tossing around seals for fun?

It's quite an unhappy sight for the seals -- but the orcas look like they're having a lot of fun.

[GCP]

21. Yeah, they're just a barrel of laughs

Beautiful psychopaths.

We should leave them in freedom, however.

[1971]

22. Orcas are wild animals. I prefer they stay that way.

Orcas by nature are predators, not plankton feeders.

[Darth_Kitten]

13. I love whales...

:cry:

RIP :(

[TeeYiYi]

14. Are they sure it wasn't the flu? .......n/t

TYY

[fortyfeetunder]

18. Another sad day.

It is a sad day for anyone who got to see a glimpse and or followed Keiko during his journey to freedom. He is truly free today.

[1971]

20. Keiko triumphed

Keiko's life was cut short by pneumonia, but his life was a triumph over adversity.

Think of this:

As a child, Keiko was kidnapped by stangers - by another species, even.

Kept caged and imprisoned and forced to perform tricks to survive, for the financial benefit of his captors.

Enduring this for years and years, Keiko became gravely ill.

But through the compassion of other human beings, Keiko was rescued from near death and nursed back to health.

Keiko was thriving in his new freedom, assisted by his loving caretakers, and learning more and more every day how to be a free wild orca in the sea.

The only blessing in Keiko's death is that it was swift.

Keiko's spirit swims the open ocean now. For all of us.