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  Killing Keiko

  Killing Keiko

  The True Story of Free Willy’s Return to the Wild

  Mark A. Simmons

  With Foreword by

  Wyland

  © 2014 Mark A. Simmons

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the author.

  Trade paperback ISBN: 978-0-9960770-1-9

  Case-bound ISBN: 978-0-9960770-0-2

  E-book ISBN: 978-0-9960770-2-6

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2014906071

  Photos by Mark A. Simmons, unless otherwise noted.

  Cover paintings and chapter art by Wyland

  Cover photo of author, by Gary Firstenberg, is used by permission.

  Trademarks used herein are for identification only and are used without intent to infringe on the owner’s trademarks or other proprietary rights.

  Callinectes Press

  Orlando, Florida

  www.killingkeiko.com

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to the millions of adults who, as children, broke their piggy banks to free a whale.

  Contents

  Foreword

  Preface

  Introduction

  1. Getting the Call

  2. Meeting Keiko and the Release Team

  3. The Enemy Within

  4. The Plan for Release—Phase I

  5. Eternal Daylight

  6. The Surge

  7. Phase II, Klettsvik Bay

  8. The Mean Season

  9. Welcome to the North Atlantic

  10. First Contact

  11. The Unraveling

  12. Limping Home

  13. Keiko in the Wild

  14. Opposing Forces

  Author’s Note

  Bibliography

  Additional Reading

  Index

  About the Author

  Foreword by Wyland

  Many years ago I received a script to review for a new Hollywood movie titled Free Willy, a film about the relationship between a boy and a captive orca. Strange title, I thought. The filmmaking team at Warner Brothers, including Lauren Shuler Donner, the producer and wife of the famed director Richard Donner, asked me to consider painting the cover art for the film. Apparently, there was a lot riding on this movie. But I had to wonder, “Who was this killer whale?”

  As fate would have it, I had a chance to meet Keiko long after the fame of movie stardom had passed. What I discovered was a long way from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. Here was this famous whale confined to a small shallow pool at the Reino Aventura Amusement Park in Mexico City. You couldn’t imagine a worse place for an apex predator like a killer whale to live. At this time the young male orca was sixteen years old and quite large. His massive dorsal fin was bent like many other orcas in captivity and he was grossly underweight. Worst of all he was suffering from a terrible outbreak of papilloma virus on his face, dorsal fin and other parts of his skin. Keiko also had three unique beauty marks on his lower chin, making him distinctive to all other orcas. But with all that, there was still an impressive spirit about Keiko. He seemed to like everyone and was curious about those who he encountered. That, I was to discover, would later be part of his downfall.

  The fact is this young orca was literally kidnapped from his family in the cool waters off Iceland. He was abducted to be sold to an amusement park for profit. Killer whales are big business, generating tens of millions of dollars as entertainment attractions. They are often put in artificial holding tanks and small pools to perform for the millions of people paying premium dollars. This is all great for the park’s bottom line, but not so great for the whales. While some parks might have been better than others, the industry of catching and exploiting killer whales has taken a heavy toll on these animals. In the ‘70s, many died in failed attempts to remove them from their tight-knit family pods that often contain grandparents, parents, and young and baby orcas. The truth is that today even with all our science, we still know little about killer whales and the impacts—on the animals and the ocean itself—when they are removed from their families.

  The first time I met Keiko at Reino Aventura he swam over to me and looked deep into my eyes. I looked back into his black eyes and felt a connection. It was like looking into the face of highly intelligent animal who although young possessed the wisdom of his ancestors. Now, here he was alone, thousands of miles away from his home and family, at the mercy of his captors, fighting for his very survival. It reminded me of people who are dependent on the kidnappers for food and water and develop Stockholm syndrome. I couldn’t help thinking, How the hell can I help get this amazing creature out of that cesspool?

  The fact is, they were killing Keiko.

  The hot scalding sun and pollution in Mexico City, along with numerous other factors, including malnutrition, were breaking down his immune system. The toxic environment had contributed to the massive papilloma disease affecting a large portion of his sensitive skin.

  After the movie, it seemed that everyone wanted to help this poor young killer whale. Millions of dollars poured in from people around the United States and the world. And, like the movie, everyone wanted to free “Willy.” The problem was this was no movie. This whale was slowly dying in one of the most polluted cities on the planet. I was invited to meet with Oscar, the owner of Reino Aventura, and Alejandro, who was in charge of the park. It was 1994, and I was planning a West Coast tour to paint a series of ocean murals from Anchorage, Alaska, to Mexico City. In fact, I was invited to paint a mural in Mexico City alongside the great Mexican muralist masters David Siqueiros, Diego Rivera, and Jose Orozco at the university science museum and college. This was considered a great honor because to my knowledge no other foreigner had received such an invitation. The Reino Aventura staff asked if I would paint a mural featuring their star—now controversial—whale Keiko.

  At that time no one could figure out how to get the park to release Keiko. I offered to paint a giant public mural featuring Keiko swimming free with his Icelandic pod on the entry of the park. I would paint the mural in exchange for Keiko’s release in one year. Oscar and Alejandro agreed. I also had planned one of the murals in Newport, Oregon, at the new aquarium there. A woman named Phyllis Bell from the Newport Oregon aquarium asked me to paint a tiny parking lot wall as part of my mural tour. Maybe, I thought, the climate around Newport could make the aquarium a good potential future home for Keiko. Any place was better than Mexico City.

  I told Phyllis Bell that unfortunately the wall at the Newport Aquarium was too small for my life-size murals. But Keiko was still on my mind, so I told her about my idea of trying to find a good place to rehab this amazing animal. She appeared interested but seemed to be holding back. I thought she might have been mad about me not accepting the small parking lot mural for my West Coast tour of murals. The wall at the aquarium just didn’t work for the mural project. Instead, I opted for a wall in the town of Newport. Dr. Bruce Mate, a well-known marine biologist spearheaded the project, and even joined me on the scaffolding painting a local whale named Scarback, a gray whale that had a huge scar on his back due to a boat collision. Scarback was the perfect choice to tell the story of the gray whales that migrated along the Oregon coast, and the wall for the image was the perfect size. In the end, the mural was enthusiastically received by the town. At the official dedication ceremony, I somehow ended up standing next to Phyllis Bell and once again told her that my goal was to help free Keiko from the small park in Mexico City. I even stated directly that it would be great to bring Keiko to the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

  The West Coast
mural painting tour finally made its way down south of the border to Mexico City. Again, I had a chance to visit Keiko and actually got to swim with him for three days. I try not to personify intelligent animals like orcas, but I have to tell you this whale was special. With all that had happened to Keiko, he continued to have a beautiful spirit. He was playful and gentle with everyone. I spent a great deal of time with him, hoping he would one day be united with his family off the coast of Iceland. The first step was to get Reino Aventura to release him. I continued to push for the release by painting one of my murals at the entry to the park featuring a life-size Keiko swimming free. The owners were thrilled and agreed to release Keiko within six months of the completion of the mural. Alejandro even invited me to be with Keiko when he left Mexico City on the UPS plane. What a great honor, I thought. They would inform me when he was ready to go.

  Keiko was to leave Mexico City and rehabilitate at the Newport Coast Aquarium in the coming months. Great, I thought. Everything was happening the way I prayed. When it was time for Keiko to leave, I contacted Reino Aventura about next steps and they told me I had to talk to Phyllis Bell at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. I called her but she would not give me any information. She told me I would have to talk to David Phillips from the Earth Island Institute, whom I called the next day. I was told that unless I donated one hundred thousand dollars to the Earth Island Institute, I would never get close to Keiko. David asked me what I contributed to Keiko that would require any further involvement with me. I explained, quite matter-of-factly, that I painted a million dollar mural to negotiate Keiko’s release. Finally, David tipped his hand. He said if I flew with Keiko from Mexico City to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, then Keiko and I would receive all the media. He told me point-blank that he wanted the media for Earth Island Institute. I told him that it sounded a lot like extortion. Finally, I said, “No thanks,” and hung up.

  The next time I saw Keiko was many years later when I was visiting my older brother Steve in Portland. I decided to go incognito to the aquarium to see my old friend. As I approached, Keiko saw me and swam straight at me, pressing his eye against the glass wall of his tank. He seemed to remember me from years ago. He followed me up and down the glass, making sounds. After two hours, I decided to leave him, content in knowing that he seemed to be recovering nicely.

  I followed the Keiko story, like many, wondering what would ever become of this amazing animal that had touched so many. Tens of millions of dollars poured in to help Keiko over the years. Kids were giving pennies, nickels, and quarters, anything they had to help free “Willy.” Early on people like David Phillips seemed to grab whatever money they could get from Keiko. Others also saw dollar signs and jumped in to get a piece of Keiko. It seems like all the wrong people were connected to this animal that had been abused from the moment he was taken. Where did the tens of millions of dollars go? All that money that poured in appeared to have gone to the wrong people: the people who couldn’t care less about Keiko’s long-term health and well-being.

  I should add something here. There were many great people who dedicated their life to Keiko. Unfortunately, in the end, when the money ran out, so did the support from many of Keiko’s purported friends. But that should be a footnote in this story. Killer whales are wild animals that deserve to live their lives as nature intended. They are part of the web of life that keep the ocean healthy and in balance. But they face a multitude of threats, most of them caused by man. Capturing animals to preserve the species might someday be the only choice we have left, but for now no animal should be captured purely for entertainment. In our best zoos, we have successful breeding programs in place. Let’s take care of the ones in captivity that have no hope of being released into the wild and, more importantly, let’s make sure we take care of their ocean habitat before zoos are the only place left they can survive. The lessons of Keiko and experience have proven over and over again that, as a society, we care enough to do something about it. We just have to use that knowledge and experience to do the right thing.

  —Wyland

  Islamorada, Florida, 2014

  Preface

  This story, the story of Keiko’s reintroduction to the wild, has been in my head, plaguing me constantly, for the last decade. I began writing the manuscript late in 2000, immediately following my departure from the project. Since then, I have attacked this book many times over the years with elaborate choreographed assaults. My attempts have resulted in various author-like voices, none of which was true to me or Keiko and those who sacrificed much for the love of a whale. Finally, my wife, Alyssa, who lived this experience and adventure with me directed me to write the book as if I was documenting Keiko’s story for my daughters. This voice, told to open hearts and minds, was much more natural for me. I hope it is for you, the reader, as well.

  Keiko’s story would never have seen the light of day had it not been for the tireless support of a few notable family members, friends and colleagues. Lisa Lauf Rooper, you are my muse. Without your inspiration I would have cowered away from this task long ago. Andy Schleis, my humble thanks for a kick in the pants when I most needed it. To my beautiful, intelligent wife—my “wingwoman”—the Bible says that through God all things are possible; you have stubbornly championed His word in ways that I cannot describe.

  My most humble thanks to the many lifelong compatriots from the Keiko Release Project for their feedback, many broken hours dredging up tender details and for keeping me on the straight and narrow. Jeff Foster, Michael Parks, Jim Horton, Guðmundur “Gummi” Eyjólfsson, Kelly Reed Gray, Thomas Sanders, Mark Trimm, Sigurlína Guðjónsdóttir, Smári Harðarson, Ingunn Björk Sigurðardóttir Bjartmarz, Sveinbjörn Guðmundsson, and Tracy Karmuza McLay. You each have my undying gratitude.

  To Stephen McCulloch, your encouragement during the last many years, and your passion for our shared field has been nothing short of awe inspiring. Further, your wise and timely introduction to Wyland proved a remarkable foresight. Wyland’s publishing experience kept this story from certain disaster at the hands of the wrong editors. His personal investment in Keiko’s life and lessons lent itself to a collaboration uncomplicated by senseless controversy. We both share the same hope (and urgency) for a more collaborative future in marine life conservation.

  Lastly, I thank my dear friend Robin B. Friday Sr. for his place in this journey. You are my brother in Christ and will always have my respect and admiration.

  Killing Keiko

  Introduction

  Let us take things as we find them. Let us not attempt to distort them into what they are not. We cannot make facts. All our wishing cannot change them. We must use them.

  John Henry Cardinal Newman

  Before meeting Keiko, I knew him well.

  There are those who would have you believe that killer whales at marine parks are somehow different than their wild brethren; that the whales in zoological settings are crazed by years in “prison.” In more than twenty-seven years working with and around killer whales in parks and the open ocean, I have never seen one ounce of evidence to support such a statement. What I have seen is that these amazing animals adapt well to almost any change. They are top predators, and among their many talents is the ability to thrive in many environments.

  The playful interactions I have witnessed among killer whales in the wild are identical to the play I’ve watched thousands of times among whales in marine parks. Breeding and social behavior is identical, even cooperative hunting is often witnessed with zoological whales when they bait and trap the occasional seagull. The primary difference is that wild whales spend much more time engaged in hunting and traveling (primarily to hunt or follow migrating fish) and less in play and social behavior. Although killer whales certainly engage in different behaviors depending upon their surroundings, the animals I have witnessed all share one common unmistakable characteristic: the disposition of the ocean’s top predator.

  Killer whales are like the lone wolf in a busy dog park. They carry an
air of superiority over all others around them and are the masters of all they survey. They have the temperament of calm and benevolent dictators descended from a royal bloodline. This disposition is remarkably consistent among every killer whale I’ve ever witnessed. Killer whales do not act crazy, for it is beneath them regardless of their circumstances.

  However, as it is with every living thing on this planet, an individual animal’s behavior (how it acts and what motivates those actions) is influenced by a multitude of variables. This precept frames perhaps the most vital dynamic when introducing an animal to significant change. As the science of behavior constitutes the foundation by which an animal’s behavior can be successfully altered; the species, the individual animal’s traits and learning history from birth thus comprise the medium. All past experiences shape the likelihood of how future behavior will occur. It is no wonder that the science of behavior along with Keiko’s past in the company of man would play the key roles in his return to the wild.

  Killer whales are not dolphins. I’ve heard too many times, “Killer whales are just dolphins; they are the largest member of the dolphin family (delphinidae).” Rubbish! These are the words of a taxonomist. They may be scientifically categorized in the same family as dolphins; however, behaviorally killer whales are no more like dolphins than rottweilers are like retrievers. Anyone telling you different is likely to get you maimed or killed.

  There is no limit to the number of self-proclaimed experts out there or those touting “Dr. This or That” and “Suzie Q, Ph.D.” in killer whale biology, ecology, and a few other “ologies.” I am not overly impressed. One can study something from a distance and write all the papers he or she likes, but the more distal and passive methods of study contribute little in the way of truly understanding an animal like a killer whale. Put yourself front and center in their watery world, neck deep in glorious vulnerability … only then do you begin to understand how they think and what they are made of; all preexisting assumptions are quickly cast asunder. There, face to face with a killer whale, adrenaline fuels a crisp mind free from distraction and with laser-like focus. In those moments, close attention is paid to what is real.