Keiko, the killer whale, lived in the ocean following captivity 

yes but wasnt it also a year that he died in the wild not 5? or is this video counting the sanctuary as 5 with 4 in the sanctuary and 1 in the wild?

@@rybelknap yeah misleading it was only a year and after it arrived in Norway it was fed by humans. so he kind of lived only a few months by his own. and we don't even know if he managed to hunt or was starving

He died alone

@@creepynumbersheep6146 he died with his caretakers by his side

I think it’s not unlike when children ended up given to the wrong family and years later the attempt is made to place the child with biological family because everyone feels it’s the right thing to do. But most of the time it’s a complete disaster. It’s just too late because the child is bonded to a completely different family and lifestyle. Like it or not, after so many years, people were Keiko’s family. It’s all he knew as family. And if orcas are as family oriented as it’s believed, they should’ve been kept in a sea pen. I believe that was the best option. Poor guy had no family. He was lonely.

your majesty It is sad that his pod was never located. But he was not attacked by the other Icelandic orca clans. That is a false fact. The fact that he was given the chance to be a wild orca again is something we all should celebrate!

At least he got to live free

I agree that it was better that he was free for the last year's of his life. So sad that no one seems to realize that yes all those orcas in captivity should be released but as they have lived in captivity that long, they now have two pods, the orca one and the human one. So the humans should have monitored hiim and fed him and care for him if possible. I imagine that possibly because Keiko was a male it would have been harder for him to be accepted as he might have been seen as more of a threat.

It happens to be that the same people who were initially a part of the people who captured and ruined the life of that whale, now later end up limiting his freedom and harming the very last part of his life. They just had to harm him more and more.

Though normally I'm an 18 year old trash kid who can't feel these kinds of things, this time it rips my heart the fact that even after he was released back into the wild, which was supposed to be his ultimate goal and his happiness, he turned back and searched for humans. He missed the affection he recieved from the people who cared for him and who came to meet him, and head back to see those people again, but the people of the government - people who aren't in the side of caring him, but by the side of Law and their own goals which opposes the whale's, prevented it from happening from various reason of their laws. He died incomplete. I guess this is the reason why people pray and feel for an afterworld to be existing, hoping a time where something people could never achieve in reality can be achieved after this life ends. Keiko is one of the most deserving animals. Nothing in his life he did by his own will. And one thing he was finally able to do at the end, us humans, we stole it away from him. A time where something he wants and deserves must finally come for him.

He showed physical signs of attempts to mate.

Da Fuq me too 😢 that movie touched my childhood loved it rip keiko

i love this baby

me too

Atleast he died free and happy exploring the Nordic seas.

#DaFuq -- Your childhood was maybe awesome. but not for him, he was an orphan without his family... . and died an orphan, rejected by his family. How can we respect animals and all the nature if we always think to our well-being in first? Save Willy? no! we will save him when he works less well...:/

DevilsPixie That could also be a reason or maybe they could have swam to another place too if they sensed it was unsafe there.

I wonder if they did but bc he was different they didnt know who he was or remember him since he was a baby when taken away who knows if his pod from back then are even alive and how can they even find his family anyways he sounded like a dolphin to begin with

Yep. We know Corky's and Lolita's pod yet we know none of the Icelandic orca's families.

Not being trapped and made to preform is a success on its own

He's been gone for over two decades. They wouldn't have recognized him.

Don't be so happy. He returned to the ocean. And then what? The wild orcas he encountered would violently attack him. The humans who were supposed to watch over him starved and then abandoned him. Keiko died alone and in pain. He needed humans to survive, and they didn't help him because "wild whales shouldn't seek human attention". Keiko's release wasn't just torture, it was an execution.

At least he was able to die free. Can't even begin to imagine being stolen from your own family. Taken somewhere to live the majority of your life in a fish bowl surrounding. When whales are captured, one of the many things that happen to them. That beautifully tall dorsal fin bends in on itself. What lack of nutrition causes that? Free Willy! At least able to swim once again. In that expansive ocean that was his natural home. ♥️♥️

@@billrobbins5874Freeing him without being member of a pod was the same abuse as capturing him.

The same thing would have happened. Tilikum was the same age as Keiko when he was captured. He spent most of his life in captivity. He wouldn't have lasted on his own.

The ONLY reason that Keiko did not survive is because the Norwegian govt REFUSED to accept that after so many years in captivity, that Keiko had two pods -- an Orca one possibly and his human pod. They should have fed him when he could not find food for himself. Although I hear that he died primarily of pneumonia, someone some sort of human caregive station should have been there to help him as they robbed him in the first place of his natural born pod that he had. Tillikum if he had been released would also survive although he was a transient whale it is would have been harder. The sea pen idea is a completely viable way to reaclimate Orca to their natural enviornment and all should be at least freed into a sea pen.

Exactly

This whale seemed peaceful and found a happy ending. Tilikum was abused and learned to hate people, if we set Tilikum free he would have attacked humans in the ocean. This story is amazing by comparison.

They've could of retired him into an seapen. I bet his health and mental health would bounce right back up. But seaworld just being selfish with Tilly that finally made him snap.

+Robert 0077 And what good did that do? He always stayed 100-300 meters away from the wild Orcas and never joined any pod. After only three weeks he traveled to Norway seeking human companionship and was found letting kids ride on his back. He had spent so much time in captivity that he had grown used to human companionship. That was natural for him. Orcas are social animals. They live and travel in pods. True success would have meant Keiko joining an Orca pod and remaining with them, as opposed to just following different pods for three weeks without truly interacting with them. Following a pod is not the same as truly interacting with them. Free Willy just didn't like being free.

+Megalodon That is a jump to say seeking human contact means he would prefer his old fishbowl. Keiko got lonely, but it was still the best situation for him, he would not have lived any longer in that pool. This problem wouldnt apply to seaworld orcas, they have families already, and if they learn to hunt well like Keiko, they have a good chance.

+chizoioioi By the time of his death, he wasn't eating as much as he used to and had become sluggish and apathetic. That isn't a good sign. I never said he preferred a tank. I said he preferred human companionship.

Chris Kavanagh its said i think if keiko had another whale thur the yrs it would've been different. He never rememberd his family i think unlike corky and lolita play their pod noises and they acted different

Keiko had two pods -- the human pod and the Orca pod. His human caregivers as part of the race that did this to him, should have taken care of him and not engaged in this tough love of not feeding him when he could not find food. They did not recognize this.

#FreeLolita!

Lolita cannot be transferred to anywhere. She is incredibly sensitive to even the slightest change. If her show times were changed, she would even perform the show by herself because she couldn't cope with the change. Although Miami Seaquarium is a terrible place for her, transferring her to anyplace else, especially at her old age, would be a dead sentence. Also if starving to dead, being rejected by your own species and eventually dying a slow agonizing dead from an infection is your perception of a better life, than maybe you should seek mental help...

what better life? he was alone the entire time in the wild, was constantly sick and died about a year later from pneumonia. Throughout the year in the wild he constantly tried to find human companionship. He had a good 20+ more years to live but you self-centered activist idiots got him killed in order to give yourselves pats on the back.

the plane was rented no need to thank.

I remember seeing Lolita when I was in 4th grade on a school field trip, I went back to the Miami sea quarium when I was 40 and cried because she was still in that tank

JENNA I agree but some ppl keep some in a tank because some of the orcas can't survive in the ocean. But yeah I agree.

If you're referring to that worthless farce called Blackfish then I'm not impressed. That mockumentary was a disgrace.

Not in my book, "Blackfish" was an eye opener and a nightmare for SeaWorld..Maybe, just maybe you work for them.

+Gabby Hyman The only moron is you, shit for brains. Even the family of Dawn Brancheau denounced the film. They said that neither they nor the foundation they established wanted anything to do with the film because it didn't accurately reflect who Dawn was or what her experiences were. Bridgette Pirtle also denounced the film, stating that the film wasn't what they told him it would be. Even Mark Simmons, one of Tilikum's earliest trainers, who was interviewed for the film, denounced it. It said they didn't even show most of his interview in the film. They cut most of it out because it contradicted what the filmmakers wanted to say. That film is no documentary. It's clearly biased.

You think think I might work for Seaworld just because I don't support a disgraceful film? Hahahahahahahahahahaha! No, I am in no way associated with Seaworld. I've only ever been to one of their parks once as a child, so I'm not even a regular visitor. I simply know bias when I see it. Documentaries are supposed to present all of the facts, even those that might contradict the message the filmmakers are trying to convey. Blackfish only shows what the filmmakers want us to see. Take the interview with Tilikum's trainer, for example. Almost that entire interview was cut from the film. Only a small part of it remains. Why? Why would such an important interview be removed from the film? Because what he had to say flew in the face of what the filmmakers were trying to tell us. Had this been a real documentary, this would have been left in and perhaps tried to form a counter argument. Instead, they removed it and hoped we the viewers would think that the interview was shorter than it actually was. Fortunately, said trainer spoke up and told us the truth. That is just one example of the many. That film is no documentary. It's a disgraceful farce.

Actually look up the average lifespan of male orcas in the wild. Considering the bad conditions of that pool for 20 years, he did surprisingly well! Stupid humans? They gave their money and time for him, what are YOU doing for orcas? Sitting on your ass ranting on a youtube vid.m

Orcas run free..THEY could be 50 to 60 years old in freedom!!!! Stupid humans!!!!!!! Yess

Humans started this when he was only two years old. They kept him in small aquariums for 20 (!!!) years! And now everyone should cheer for that last 5 years when they finally let him back to the wild?! Everything is wrong with this world....

@Trimmed Plane stupid humans

@Trimmed Plane learn to spell

Don't be so happy. He returned to the ocean. And then what? The wild orcas he encountered would violently attack him. The humans who were supposed to watch over him starved and then abandoned him. Keiko died alone and in pain. He needed humans to survive, and they didn't help him because "wild whales shouldn't seek human attention". Keiko's release wasn't just torture, it was an execution.

I read that too. 😭

5 years

@@frankag4651 no . The original post is correct. They had him in a holding bay and tried to get him acclimated, but his life free in the ocean or release date was over a year that he actually survived on his own.

I agree. His imprints were very strong with humans. He could have been fully retired to a sanctuary instead of a full release. His family was never located and it is likely they perished during other captures.

He died of pneumonia like many other captive orcas. The only failure of his rescue/rehab and release is him not integrated into a wild pod and leave the humans behind.

5 years*

who ever said i sent him out to die go away if you have nothing nice to say and dont even comment im an adult i dont have time to listen to haters or people that are gonna be immature about things, i did the right thing no whale deserves to be in captivity at all i dont like it, he died 5 years after because of ammonia not because of thousandds of kids including me being one of them actually had a heart to release him back into his proper place after ignorant people captured him from the ocean when he was just 2 years old, and if you have a problem with it then you need to check back into reality because i dont care what you think.

+NukeCorruption thanks for understanding he lived for 5 years in the ocean where he belonged

I'm glad that you had that opportunity to help Keiko. That sweet orca died free, unlike his cousin Tilly who died in captivity.

thanks willy was my inspiration to become a marine biologist, i still have all the movies and just finished watching all three yesterday, and i was sad to see tilly was gone :( but i was glad willy got to go back to j pod with his family where he belonged

As far as I'm concerned, you're a hero. Without you and 1000's of other kids, he wouldn't have been freed.

In freedom, they stay to there mother up to 20 years and learn to hunt with their family. Young animals, seperated from their family and kept in captivity to make unnatural games, fullfilles with psychotropic grow up like Kasper Hauser. No wonder that they are not accepted by the other wales. I think these whales are disturbt and traumatised and no longer fit for the survival in the ocean. All the whales of seaworld should be brought in a bay, so that they are together, they have no other family. Also they should be feeded by seaworld for the rest of their life, because they never learned to hunt. Seaworld did that to them, Seaworld should pay for it!!!!!!!!

Robert 0077 He was too weak To fought out the ailment Because They starved him in hopes he would hunt to make up

@TruthFan you don’t have too many brain cells do you

Whales and dolphins in captivity arent "domesticated". Even though seaworld does rescue work and sometimes donates....they dont give a whole lot to conservation or anything. That doesnt excuse their past actions of capture, violence and death.

If it's not domestication, what is it? Plus, can you give me the source of how they don't actually give conservation? I do agree with you though, it's wrong that the whales were taken for money in the first place. But at least nowadays people have learned from their mistakes and are trying to make it right. This does in fact include Seaworld. They have tried installing things like a bigger more naturalistic tank for the orcas to explore and a treadmill system that would allow the orcas to swim nice and fast and by theory stop dorsel collapse. Sadly, these ideas and project were met with oppositions with people saying Seaworld was ignoring the problem. To be honest, I would rather have the orcas happy in captivity than lonely in the wild.

@@4C4N They're tortured into submission. Similar to a human living in solitary confinement or thrown into a cell with random people. Whales have families, others they're familiar and comfortable with. What they do at SeaWorld is the equivalent of kidnapping a bunch of random people, forcing them to live together and starving them if they don't do what you want. Keiko found other orcas, but never found his pod, his family, so he died alone. Cats and dogs became domesticated over the course of thousands of years. You want to try going out, trapping a three year old wild wolf or lion, force it to live with you, in a cage, while you starve it unless it does what you want, you won't be happy with the results. That's the equivalent of what they did to Keiko. Whales can not be domesticated and should not be held in captivity.

I agree with you maybe these whales can identify with each other in the wild, In a protected Bay where they are cared for, And given what they need to survive as payment for their years of servitude.

@@4C4N why capture in the 1st place. Rescue and release. Shouldn't capture for circus.

Don't be so happy. He returned to the ocean. And then what? The wild orcas he encountered would violently attack him. The humans who were supposed to watch over him starved and then abandoned him. Keiko died alone and in pain. He needed humans to survive, and they didn't help him because "wild whales shouldn't seek human attention". Keiko's release wasn't just torture, it was an execution.

You misspelled the name keiko.

The Oregon Aquarium made a promise it would NEVER keep another orca in its tanks.

He lived 5 years in a sea pen, all alone, not in the wild. He was only free for 1 year, then died of pneumonia

メKawaiiYanderleeメ way longer than the 3-6 months he had if he had stayed in Mexico.

They should've transported him to a specialized facility instead, like SeaWorld. There, he would've lived for many more years, except NOT lonely, starving and sick like he was in "the wild" (aka a netted area and swimming after a boat like some fancy dog).

kiska never did

He lived 5 years in the ocean, only 1.5 years was in the open ocean the rest in a sea pen with daily “walks” into the open water.

@@diannemcleod3055 exactly I'm saying when he was free w/o anyone

He sadly died in 2003

Me too.

There's still a chance for Corky and Ulises at SeaWorld. They have family in the ocean still.

Who said we have the money

@@ramry5632 ...thanks for your reply...so once keiko was free..did his fin resume upright...

@@ramry5632 ...aww...suppose its like the rest of us...you dont use it..you lose it! Lol.

SeaWorld had absolutely nothing to do with Keiko... He first lived at an Icelandic aquarium, then at Marineland Canada and eventually at the Mexican park where Free Willy was shot. So don't put blame on SeaWorld as they contribute so much to killer whale research and conservation.

spacebug30 **Tilikum has entered the chat.

Too many!

+17sunnyhour I am si happy to know that Keiko was in the ocean in his last days. Wonderful and lovely animal.

hes dead

He died of pneumonia, a very common infection to many captive orcas (during his rescue,rehab/release 28 orcas died in aquaria). The only failure of his rehab/release was he never was integrated into a wild pod. What we've learnt is not all orcas are fit for full release but definitely for retirement in a seapen.

Oh, spare us your self-righteous bullshit. I'm sick of hearing all this idealistic garbage from jackasses that don't know shit. Zoos and Aquariums do a lot for conservation, and their research programs teach a lot about animals. Some animals actually thrive in captivity. As long as they are treated well and given suitable conditions to live in, which many aquariums and zoos provide, then animals can do very well in captivity. Some animals do better than others in captivity, and the captivity of some creatures like Orcas is a controversial subject due to the feasibility of keeping them happy and healthy, but other animals do fine. For every greedy bastard who sees animals as nothing but means for profit, there are loving, caring people that would do anything for the animals under their care. In fact, I'd say that the latter outnumber the former. You know nothing. I doubt you even do your own research.

Megalodon dumbass. I was a zoo Keeper, I know every zoo in the US, I also know how the business works and how much shit is hidden from the public. Say what you want and insult however you want I don't really care, knowledge and personal experience is what I have, and people like you are so ignorant that it's not even worth having an argument.

Megalodon wtf lol, I find this hilarious. W.e crazy keep on with your crazyness, I don't need to argue with random people on the Internet, you don't know me at all and clearly you don't even know what your talking about. Move along little triggered person, I don't have times for people who choose to be blind as a bat. Lol bye bye

Oh, by all means, don't let me stop your crazy ranting. Don't forget your tin-foil hat.

Oh sure, those $500 per person 'whale safaris' sure don't make a profit... and do you even realise the kind of damage these things do to wild populations?

not all aquariums are bad

Coleen StarlightPH. Unfortunately, Keiko passed away in 2003. But, at least he lived free. He felt what it was like to swim long distances instead of around in circles.

Coleen StarlightPH he was 27 years when he died

Coleen StarlightPH he had something with his lungs

thank you guys

+Bluenose352 The hell are you talking about. He didn't die free. He came back to civilization and they couldn't get him to leave. They tried to get him to return to open waters but he wouldn't do it after that initial success. He had just grown so accustomed to human companionship ship that spending time with humans was natural to him. Such a thing is quite common amongst animals that have spent most of their life in captivity, especially intelligent, social animals like Orcas. They form strong bonds with their companions, just like we do, and if their spend most of their time in the company of humans, then they can become attached to them. That's what happened to Keiko. He just didn't want to be free.