08/16/2002

By TERESA BELL, kgw.com Staff

Keiko is learning to follow his instincts to dive for food and hasn’t had to rely on his handlers for over a month, according to researchers working to reintroduce the orca into the wild in Iceland.

The former captive “Free Willy” star has been swimming with a pod of wild whales off the coast of Iceland for the past 41 days. Researchers believe the group of whales is Keiko’s family pod.

Wildlife biologists are tracking Keiko with radar that picks up a satellite tag attached to his flipper. Since July 17, Keiko has traveled over 300 miles from his Iceland pen, to about 100 miles north of the Faroe Islands.

Researchers watch wild orcas "spy hopping" -- an instinctual behavior -- south of Vestmannaeyjar. (Photo Courtesy: Ocean Futures)

Researchers also tracked dives as much as 100 meters deep. They said this mirrors a technique whales use to corral herring for food. Orcas feed primarily on herring in the North Atlantic.

Ken Balcomb, founder and director of the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island, referred to the tracking results as “stunning.”

Related Info.
		Keiko Bonds with Wild Whales
		Keiko Web Site
		HSUS Web Site

"I always knew he could do it," he said.

Balcomb helped begin the Keiko reintroduction effort in 1993. The Humane Society of the United States also helped lead the project.

Now, with HSUS continues its support through funding. The organization announced today that it received a grant of $400,000 from the Wendy P. McCaw Foundation. The HSUS also dedicated a section of its Web site, www.hsus.org, to the Keiko project in hopes of intensifying fund-raising efforts.

The research boat, "Daniel" returns to the bay without Keiko. (Photo Courtesy: Ocean Futures

“The Humane Society of the United States is prepared to provide whatever resources are necessary to see the Keiko Project through to a successful completion,” said Paul G. Irwin, president and CEO of the HSUS. “We are hopeful that we will all see a day when Keiko is finally free.”

Scientists plan to use research compiled through Keiko’s reintroduction project to save other captive whales as well as protect wild orcas already in Iceland.

"Keiko's fantastic leap to freedom shoots down the marine park industry's myth that reintroductions won't succeed," said Howard Garrett, president of Orca Network.

He said the next candidate for release, with fewer complications and a far better chance of success, is Lolita, (aka Tokitae) now held captive in a tank in Miami.

Humpback whales feed in the waters off the southeastern coast of Iceland. (Photo Courtesy: Ocean Futures)