OK Jade! I'll put it up.....
<Begin Biography>
[align=center]How He Lived: A Biography on the Most Famous Whale in TV History[/align]
[align=center]By: Emily K. R.[/align]
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Keiko. Most of you have heard this name, and for those of you who havenât, itâs a good thing youâre reading this story, because youâre prepping yourself, right now, to fly back into history and relive the story of the most famous whale in the world.
Keikoâs life began in 1977 off the coast of Iceland in the Atlantic waters. He was free; able to swim, eat and live happily with his family. When he was two years old, his world changed; he was captured by a fishing boat and moved into an Icelandic aquarium. He lived in Iceland for three years. He learned from humans, was fed by humans, and therefore he maintained an everlasting bond with humans; he thought of them as his family, and it was all he had. When he was five years old, he was sold to Marineland in Ontario, Canada where they continued his training and trust with humans. By this point, the symptoms of a captive whale were setting in: Keikoâs dorsal fin was starting to flop over because he had been in such small tanks that werenât designed to hold the thousand-pound, growing, whale. After Keikoâs three-years at Marineland, he was sold to Reino Adventura, in Mexico City for a hefty $350 grand. His tank at Reino was even smaller than the previous tanks he had; and it was warm. Killer whales are supposed to have cold water, and because Keikoâs tank lacked this feature, he developed skin lesions around his fins, and his dorsal fin continued to flop all the way over. His flopped dorsal fin seemed like his âsignatureâ and got him a lot of deserving attention. He soon became the star of âFree Willyâ and he was known around the world. Everyone loved the whale and wanted to make his life better, so on January 7[suP]th[/suP], 1996, Keiko was airlifted from his tank in Mexico City to his new, $7.3 million rehabilitation tank at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. This move couldnât have been complete without the start of the Free Willy/Keiko Foundation, started in 1994, or without the help of Craig McCaw and Warner Bros. Studios (producers of âFree Willyâ) who each donated $2 million to start the FWKF.
In Oregon, Keiko was able to receive a great veterinarian, and be in natural sea water for the first time in over 14 years. By the end of his first year in Oregon, Keikoâs skin lesions began healing and he had already gained more than 1,000 pounds, which was a sure sign that his old life at Reino Adventura wasnât very good. In 1997, Keikoâs trainers and owners began teaching him how to hunt and eat live fish, so he could have a possible chance at living in the wild once again. By this time, all of Keikoâs skin lesions were gone and he was a very happy, healthy boy. He enjoyed playing games with his staff, visiting with over 2 million Americans who came to visit him each year, and be himself. By June of 1997, Keiko was weighing in at 9,620 pounds, which was a very good weight for a male killer whale of his age; and in August of 1997, he caught and ate his first live fish. The staff of the FWKF figured that it would be good to get Keiko back into the wild, but they canât just release him automatically, so they decided to have a pen built in Iceland and he would be flown their to be fully trained (with as little human interactions as possible) to re-enter the wild. They knew he was in good health, because he was eating 3-12 pound live steelhead fish and acting like a normal killer whale would.
On the frosty morning of September 9[suP]th[/suP], 1998 Keiko was lifted from his tank, his home of just 2 years, in Oregon and loaded into a US Airforce C-17. His flight was destined to Iceland, and with his trainers, and supporters, his flight was successful.
Within the first year, Keiko showed exclusive progress and demonstrated that he truly belonged back in the wild. He was showing less interest in his handlers, and more interest in his natural surroundings. He wanted to be free, and everyone around the world wanted him to be free. In 2000, he was fit with a tracking device so that his trainers could follow him while he went on âsea walksâ. He loved to talk with other killer whales from inside his captive quarters, and his handlers knew that he was destined to make the move towards being free once again. In 2001 he still talked with other wild orcas and he also started showing his handlers that he was remembering his life from the old days, because he was fighting with other animals over his food, which other, wild, orcas do.
In 2002, he was set free from the netted bay pen and he joined a pod of nearby orcas. His handlers were able to track and monitor his progress and they noted that he spent a massive amount of time with wild orcas for three weeks, and then he was off on a journey. He traveled over 1000 miles across the North Atlantic, by the Faeroe Islands and to Norway. Along his journey, cameras followed him and captured him interacting with humans; this wasnât a good sign and his handlers and trainers suddenly regretted letting him go. They immediately gave the Europeans country guidelines to tell their civilians to not feed, swim with or play with the orca, because he was becoming very popular and many people would come and say hi to him.
Keiko was able to come and go as he pleased into the Taknes bay where the staff could feed and train him and help him become the âwildâ killer whale he truly was at heart.
On December 12[suP]th[/suP], 2003 Keiko fans around the world hear something they hadnât wished for. Keiko was found dead in the Taknes bay, where the Norwegian staff had cared for him. Keiko was diagnosed as dying with acute pneumonia, but he was also the second oldest male whale in captivity history.
Keiko now rests in Norway, in his grave, where thousands upon thousands of grieving fans come and say farewell to the whale that inspired so many to move on, to take care of their world and to do so much more.
Keiko was the first captive whale ever to be released back into the wild, despite some setbacks, Keiko made that dream come true, and heâll forever be written into historyâ¦â¦
[align=center]R.I.P Keiko[/align]
[align=center]1997-2003[/align]
[align=center]<END BIOGRAPHY>[/align](COPYRIGHT (C)2008 Emily K. R.)
[align=left]Emily[/align]
[align=left]Hope you like it! [/align]
