The Winter/Spring 1995 Ocean Alert (formerly the Dolphin Alert) is an Earth Island Institute publication.
Keiko, the orca which starred in the 1993 hit film, Free Willy, leaps in the air.
MONDAY FEBRUARY 6, 1995, San Francisco, CA. Keiko, the orca whale who starred in the Warner Bros. hit movie Free Willy, is finally on his way toward a new home and eventual release back to the ocean.
Today, at a press conference in Mexico City, David Phillips, Director of the newly formed Free Willy Foundation announced final agreement with the Mexico City theme park Reino Aventura under which Keiko will be donated to the Foundation. Work will now begin on a state-of-the-art two million gallon deep water pool at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, Oregon.
Phillips called the plan: "one of the most ambitious efforts ever undertaken for any endangered species." He continued: "This is going to be a great step for Keiko and for the rescue and rehabilitation of many other dolphins and whales."
Phillips continued: "We are out to break new ground for the whales and dolphins of the world. Never before has a captive orca been rehabilitated and returned to the wild. Keiko will be the only captive orca whale that doesn't have to do shows or perform. Never before has there been a dedicated deep-water pool solely for the rescue and rehabilitation of dolphins and whales."
Keiko, about 16 years old, was originally captured in Icelandic waters when he was about two years old. He has lived in Mexico City since 1985 in a pool that is too small for his needs and in water that is often too warm. Keiko also suffers from a viral skin condition which needs treatment.
Earth Island Institute, which established the Free Willy Foundation, has been involved in marine mammal conservation for more than a decade and has worked for more than a year to design a plan to help Keiko. The Foundation's mission is to relocate , rehabilitate, and potential release Keiko to the wild, and to operate the new facility as a center for the rescue and rehabilitation of other dolphins and whales.
The foundation received an initial donation of $2 million from Warner Bros. and New Regency Productions (producers of "Free Willy"), and has since received a matching $2 million grant from a anonymous donor. The foundation has also begun a major fundraising campaign to raise the $10 million necessary to design and build the facility, relocate, treat and release Keiko, and operate the center for rescue and rehabilitation of whales.
Phillips stated: "Ever since the movie "Free Willy" came out millions of people have pressed for a plan to help Keiko. Finally, that is going to happen."
Keiko-The Long Effort for a Return Home.
Ocean Alert - Winter / Spring 1995.
http://www.earthisland.org/immp/immp16.html