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Keiko ( c. 1976 – 12 December 2003) was a male orca captured in the Atlantic Ocean near Iceland in 1979. He was best known for his portrayal of Willy in the 1993 film Free Willy. In 1996, Warner Bros. and the International Marine Mammal Project collaborated to return Keiko to the wild.
Through first-hand accounts by the marine mammal experts charged with his care, “Keiko The Untold Story” follows Keiko, his life, his legacy of hope, and the untold story of his extraordinary years in Iceland and Norway.
Between 1977 and 1980: Keiko is born in the Atlantic Ocean near Iceland. 1979 to 1981: As Keiko (first called “Kago”) was with his family gobbling leftovers from a herring boat, he is captured by Jon Gunnarson for $50,000, and brought to an Icelandic aquarium, or possibly to a private zoo in southern Iceland.
Jul 19, 2023 · The short answer is that Keiko was about 19 years old when he was finally rescued from the tiny tank in Mexico City. What was his journey to the wild? While Keiko was trapped in Mexico, in 1992, Warner Bros. began filming the movie Free Willy – the story of a boy who helps free a captured orca from captivity.
Feb 21, 2023 · Keiko was a killer whale, born off the eastern coast of Iceland sometime in 1976. He was not, for the record, a literal whale; orcas are actually a type of dolphin, originally dubbed “whale killers” for their propensity to hunt whales in the wild.
Keiko lived five years in his native waters as opposed to staying in a tiny tank in Mexico, where he was visibly dying. Although he didn’t reintegrate with other orcas, he had freedom and had his basic survival needs met.
It’s one of the most famous orcas in the world. However, its real story is not very well known. This is the true, and moving story of Keiko, the orca from « Free Willy ».
