Hurricane-force winds, 135-miles-an-hour, pound his sea pen, but Keiko's keepers say he is having a fine time during the storms and feels no ill-effects in his new home. He spyhops to feel the wind, holds his pectoral fins high in the air, and jumps out of …

Keiko (c. 1976 – 12 December 2003) was a male orca captured in the Atlantic Ocean near Iceland in 1979, and widely known for his portrayal of Willy in the 1993 film Free Willy. In 1996, Warner Bros. and the International Marine Mammal Project collaborated to return Keiko to the wild.

2025年3月5日 · Keiko, the orca who captured hearts worldwide as the star of Free Willy, spent a crucial period of his rehabilitation in a sea pen in Iceland. This sea pen, a specially constructed enclosure in a natural bay, was instrumental in his journey from captivity to partial freedom.

Klettsvík Bay Sea Pen was a sea pen that housed Keiko the killer whale from 1998 to 2002. The sea pen was located in Klettsvík, on Vestmannaeyjar island in Iceland. It measured 250 ft long, 100 ft wide, and was 30 ft deep.

On July 15th, 2002, Keiko had become well adapted to his new environment in the sea-pen and the decision was made to finally release him into the wild. Keiko left Icelandic waters in early August 2002 and could sometimes be seen following other killer whale pods, though he never integrated into one.

2018年5月23日 · Yes, at first Keiko remained in his sea pen, catching live fish and becoming acclimated to life in the ocean. Soon he was able to swim in the whole netted off bay. Then he began to make forays out into the open ocean, with a …

2024年11月26日 · Keiko’s pen was designed to withstand the rough weather; the walls were made of permeable nylon netting, and the whole thing was tethered to the sea floor. Here’s a closer look: Keiko's sea pen in Iceland. Photo Credit: Free Willy Keiko Foundation. The pen was about two-thirds the size of a football field — considerably bigger than his Oregon tank.

2023年7月19日 · At first Keiko remained in his sea pen, catching live fish and becoming acclimated to life in the ocean. Soon he was able to swim in the whole netted off bay. Then he began to make forays out into the open ocean, with a guide boat, sometimes even swimming in the company of wild orcas.

2019年3月11日 · Nearly 60 days after the orca whale Keiko left his sea pen in Iceland this summer as part of a historic and unprecedented effort to reintroduce him to the wild, visual observations made in Norwegian waters confirm that he is in excellent health.

During the five years that Keiko lived in a sea pen, a netted-off bay, or the open ocean, there were 14 captive orca deaths worldwide. Four orcas died at SeaWorld. Two of these whales died from pneumonia, the same condition that killed Keiko.