What Happened to KEIKO? | The Whale from FREE WILLY

Moral of the story: The best way to rehabilitate a killer whale is to never keep them captive in the first place.

This story is the exact reason these whales should never be taken in the first place. Orcas form a very strong bond with their family units. You can't just introduce them to other pods and expect it to work out. It was so sad seeing him all alone.

I love that Keiko remembered some tricks, and played with kids. Makes me think he at least enjoyed part of his job, despite the decline in health at the time. He liked making kids laugh, and interacting with them.

Maybe from Keikos point of view, during all the years in captivity, he begun to consider humans as his pod. And what humans considered to be release to freedom, Keiko considered as banishment from his own pod...

Poor Keiko... he didn't know how to socialize with them and was lonely...that breaks my heart. That's why he kept seeking out humans, he was alone and that hurts my heart. These people tried to do the right thing, it was just too late.

This video fails to explain that Keiko was never forced to leave his pen. He chose not to return. He’d spent the previous summer interacting with wild orcas for several hours almost every day. He was completely capable of feeding himself & didn’t lose any weight during this swim to Norway. He was simply exhausted because he wasn’t used to swimming 60 miles per day. This could have weakened his immune system & caused his illness. His trainers knew he was sick and were providing medical attention. He didn’t die alone.

I cried so much. Couldn't be more thankful for having him released and taken care by his caretakers. Everyone did their best for Keiko.

He got a taste of freedom.. man this made me cry. Just like the movie when I was a kid

This is exactly what happened to Luna when they tried to introduce him back into the wild in Vancouver. He just wouldn't leave the bay. They kept trying to take him far into the ocean and even found other pods that welcomed him in but he was just too used to being around humans that he kept coming back. He'd swim up to boats to visit with the people, swim up to docks and visit. Unfortunately, one of the huge tugboats that he visited often, Luna got sucked under from the engines and he was killed. It was extremely heartbreaking for everyone. And even though I don't support any animals in captivity, unfortunately, it's almost always bad to try and reintroduce them back into the wild after many years in captivity. They should all be reintroduced in the ocean but in a rehabilitation area where they learn how to live in the ocean but in a supervised, loving, area where they are safe. And from now on they should only be admired from afar in their own homes and environment 💖

What makes me furious from this is that here we are, nearly 30 YEARS since the film came out and created all that passion to free Keiko, and dolphins and whales are still being held captive for entertainment. Hundreds are still captured every year for the trade. More than 3000 worldwide are kept captive including 60 orcas. What the hell is wrong with our species?

I was 12y when Keiko died. My grandmother used to drive us from Seattle to the Coast every weekend so I could go hang out with him since I was old enough to talk. 4yo me always brought my piggy bank to help my giant friend find his way home. I remember our last trip like it was yesterday, crying when his tank was finally empty bc I couldn't see him anymore but hoping he'd be happy/safe. The news of his passing broke my heart. He's the only reason I still have a VHS player and the 1st Free Willy. I know it's available digitally but it's the same one from 25+ years ago so it's family just as he was. I still have majority of all my pictures I took with him while he was in Oregon. Thank you for sharing some much needed information and beautiful visualization of Keiko's story 🥺❤

He's still inspiring and teaching kids how amazing marine life is... That's his legacy forever... He'll always show the new generations why these animals are so important to the world and conservation as a whole

Imagine stealing a toddler in California, keeping it for 20 years in a cage, then "rehabilitating" and releasing near a village of a tribe in Amazonia to "be free" - and then being surprised that he's not doing well. Knowing how complex life and culture of whales is, that's why they basically did to Keiko.

He might have been "free" but did Keiko truly feel free? It's tragic that he was separated from his family as a baby, but he had been raised by people, socialized with people, He even sought out people after he was freed. The bay in Iceland that they had setup as a home for him might have been possibly the best place for him to have stayed. He could still have gone out swimming in the open ocean of his own accord, but he'd always have a place he could return to, and people that could help make his heart feel at least a little less lonely.

This was beautiful! The ending was sad, yes, but still. His life was better by far than staying in that pond in Mexico. Well done and thank you to everyone involved in this! ❤❤❤

Their intentions were SO pure. Unfortunately it didn't work out for poor Keiko and that is so damn sad. 😭 my heart is broken over this 💔 I hope he knew how much everyone loved him. Man I didn't plan on crying this late at night. 😢

I don't see this as different as someone dying lonely, lost and alone in the streets. This is a heart braking story.

There's a male orca in Florida who literally committed suicide by slamming his head into the walls of his enclosure to escape captivity. So inhuman to keep such intelligent creatures locked up in such a small pool for so long

They should let him play with the local, he seemed happy with the human interaction and the freedom in the real ocean. You can’t expect him to be fully wild orca after live so long in captivity.

RIP Keiko…you’ll always be a part of my childhood and immortalized through Free Willy ❤