#Free Willy

[orcinus-veterinarius]

Can you elaborate the story of the ”Free Willy” orca (forgot his name). From my understanding the orca couldn’t survive in the wild and imprinted on hunans to the point that he seeked out human compaionship

Oh Keiko. His is a sad story. In 1979, he was tragically captured from his native Icelandic waters as a calf and, after bouncing around for several years, was sold to an amusement park in Mexico City that would eventually become Six Flags Mexico. It was here that he found fame as the star of Free Willy, a very sweet and very fictional story (a favorite of mine as a child!) that later spawned a trilogy, all while convincing the public that it’s easy to free a whale.

The tank you see in the movie is the same tank Keiko lived in during his time in Mexico. Intended to house dolphins, it was incredibly undersized, and the water was far too warm for an orca. Worst of all, he was isolated from others of his kind, with only the companionship of his human caregivers and a few bottlenose dolphins. The years of poor husbandry took their toll on poor Keiko, and he was lethargic and in ill health when his story because known throughout the world.

Although many parties were involved in what happened next, Warner Bros. studios (the filmmakers behind Free Willy) and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS, my beloathed) were at the forefront. Once it became public knowledge that the real Willy was not, in fact, returned to the wild to live with his family and was still living in that too-tiny pool, many of Keiko’s fans (mainly children) began writing letters asking for their favorite cetacean movie star to be released.

Doesn’t that warm your heart? *she says sarcastically*

Some time—and an incident in which Michael Jackson (yes, that Michael Jackson) tried to purchase the whale for his personal collection—later, Keiko’s owners relented. It was decided by the newly formed Free Willy-Keiko Foundation, founded by Warner Bros. and cell phone mogul Craig McCaw (and still in operation to this day, unfortunately), that it was time to make fantasy a reality and set Keiko free. In 1996, Keiko was transferred to the Oregon Coast Aquarium for rehabilitation, where he would spend two years.

Under the quality husbandry and veterinary care Keiko received in Oregon, his health began to improve. In my opinion, this beautiful habitat, with trainers who loved and cared for him, should’ve been his forever home. One would think this was the plan all along, considering his trainers were still doing waterwork with him. That doesn’t exactly scream “this animal is a candidate for release!”

But the HSUS and Free Willy-Keiko Foundation had promised the children of the world that Keiko would return to the wild. Think of the children, people.

In 1998, Keiko tasted the crisp saltwater of the Icelandic seas for the first time in nearly two decades. For the next four or so years, Keiko lived in a sea pen, with the intentions of gradually habituating him back to his native environment. Over time, his trainers took him on longer and longer “walks” in the open ocean. One day in 2002, the walk didn’t end.

Keiko was free.

15 months later, he was dead.

The cause of death was pneumonia, the most common disease of cetaceans both in the wild and in human care. He was 27 years old (average life expectancy of a male orca is about 30 years).

Perhaps it would’ve been worth it, had Keiko spent those last 15 months with his long-lost family. But he didn’t. Though he was occasionally observed trailing pods of orcas, Keiko never rejoined a wild pod. Instead, he spent those 15 months traveling the coasts of Iceland and Norway seeking out the only family he knew. Humans.

Keiko would approach swimming children, allowing them to ride on his back as he had with his trainers over the years. He would follow boats in search of food and companionship, as his caregivers had interacted with him from boats during his ocean walks. These escapades became so frequent that the local government passed ordinances to stop its citizens from interacting with the whale. Although the HSUS claimed otherwise, Keiko was never again a truly wild whale. He was a whale dependent on humans, humans who ignored the advice of experts and tried to bring fiction to life. In 2009, the journal Marine Mammal Science did a retrospective review of Keiko’s rehabilitation and release. They determined it was a failure.

Despite this, Keiko remains a poster child for anti-zoo activists. The still-hypothetical Whale Sanctuary Project (my even more beloathed) uses Keiko as an example of why their experiment is a good idea, tugging at heartstrings of well-meaning animal lovers like HSUS did all those years ago.

In reality, Keiko was quite possibly the worst candidate imaginable for release. He was a fully mature male, with a history of poor health, who had spent decades in the care of humans with absolutely no contact with others of his kind since he was basically a toddler. The decision to release him was made entirely on emotion and carried out by movie executives and animal rights activists. For further insight into the political and financial woes of the release, I highly recommend Killing Keiko by Mark Simmons, one of Keiko’s caregivers throughout the rehabilitation process.

RIP Keiko. You were a beautiful, sweet man who inspired millions 🐳

[finndoesntwantthis]

Will is too happy and sweet to be dealing with Don and his stupid fake family 🥺

[catspawcreates]

Hi lights from my live community event on Magma and TikTok! Free Kill Code (Free Willy style) is cracking me up.

[mockingnerd]

Like so many of us orca nerds in the 90s, I followed Keiko’s life closely. I still have a folder full of newspaper clippings from every stage of his rehabilitation journey, and recently rewatched an old documentary I used to have on repeat. It got me thinking about how special he was and I wanted to do a tribute, so: here he is surrounded by mountain avens, the national flower of Iceland, his original home.

[artsydragongal]

#freewillyvibes

Lo'ak and Payakan! There aren't many official reference for Tulkuns so i kinda had to wing this...but I'm in love with this movie already and it's not even out!! Outcasts stick together! 🥺🥺💙💙

(CLICK FOR BETTER QUALITY)

20 days until The Way of Water!!! It's so close now! I'm excited enough that i am kind of reviving my dead account here 😅😂

(Please do not repost my art but likes and reblogs are appreciated! 💙💙💙💙)

[whowouldwininafite]

[90smovies]

[orcinus-veterinarius]

Some people already said that with Keiko. Though tech he was no longer in the sea pen. -_-

Very true unfortunately ☹️ a lot of people have also convinced themselves that he was actually just fine out there and use him as a poster child for why releases work.

It’s possible releasing him killed him. He was only in the wild for about a year before he died, and he was never a robustly healthy whale. But his cause of death was pneumonia, something that routinely kills both wild and managed cetaceans. He was also 27, close to the average life expectancy of 30 years for male orcas (though they can and do live longer, and nowadays there are multiple 30+ year old male orcas in human care).

To me, the real tragedy of Keiko isn’t that he died. That’s a big part of it—I still do think he would’ve lived longer if he hadn’t been released. It’s that he died alone. This incredibly social animal died alone because people decided it was better for him to die in an attempt to reunite him with wild orcas than to let him have the company of humans—which is what he wanted.

[annieqattheperipheral]

Can't believe i had to work this morn and didn't get to experience my heart POUNDING OUT OF MY CHEST with you all for this😭😭

WILLY!!!😁😚💙💙💙

our baby in sweden now that's a Free Willy🐳

[coverteyes]

[bethanydelleman]

We literally wore out the VHS of Land Before Time and had to buy another one. And yes, I know this poll is revealing my age.

And while we were the most obsessed with Land Before Time #1, know that we at one point owned up to #8.

[laryssarts]

Redraw time! Original I drew back in 2012 under the cut.

This is a fanart for a friend's Free Willy fanfic called "Blackfish Saga - Twin Tides". The kids are Taylor and Tyler, the orcas are Paikea and Ikkaika. I tried to keep the cartoon look on the orcas, just with a better/more accurate anatomy.

You see I still work better with animals than with people lol

On a sidenote, the moment I started throwing colors in the sky on my redraw, I automatically began singing "Here comes the sun, doo doo doo doo" XDD

[sharkdream3421]

You make them do references (Gang Orca, Fumikage Tokoyami, Izuku Midoriya)

I loved writing this one!

Gang Orca (Kugo Sakamata):

"Okay here we are!"

"Are you ready to go into the water Y/N?" Kugo asked you.

You chuckled seeing that he missed the point. You asked Kugo to come to the beach with his swimsuit on. He thought that you wanted to go swimming with him. You wanted to, but you had a different reason.

"I will in a moment, meet me over by that wall of rocks over there. I'll talk to you once your near it."

"Y/N, what is this about?" Kugo would have raised a brow if he had one.

You laughed as you tried to contain more chuckles coming out, "You'll see..."

You started to make your way over to the wall of rocks that surrounded the beach. Meanwhile, Kugo swam his way over to the rock wall like you asked. He wasn't sure what you wanted him to do, but he knows you can be a little ball of mischief sometimes.

You stood on top of the rock wall with your arms crossed, and there you saw Kugo looking up at you. You were a little higher than Kugo due to the wall's height, but Kugo was still tall regardless.

"Great your here! Now, I need you to jump over this rock wall and land on the other side. Don't ask just do it, unless your afraid." You teased.

Kugo glared at you in a jokingly manner, "Oh your on Y/N, I'll show you what I can do!"

Kugo swam a some distance away from the rock wall and focused his efforts on how to jump over the wall. He knew he would have to build up speed to get over the wall and jump out of the water simultaneously.

He swam at a fast speed and quickly dived deeper into the water to gain momentum and then propelled himself out of the water. As Kugo jumped really high into the air over your head you raised your hand over your head and you were touching Kugo's underbelly.

Kugo landed back onto the other side with a big splash. This caused some of the water to splash onto your clothes. You should have been mopping about the fact you got wet because of him, but instead you started to laugh tremendously.

Kugo then swam to shore and got out of the water with water dripping off his body.

"Impressed?" Kugo said with both of his arms risen to look like he was showing off.

You just chuckled in fits of laughter as you fell to the ground.

"Very. Thanks Willy!" You said, while laughing.

Kugo scratched the side of his head, "Who is Willy?"

"You don't even know! That's way better!" You laughed even louder as a confused Kugo stood next to you with his hands on his waist.

He was so confused right now.

Fumikage Tokoyami:

"What are we doing in the woods?" Tokoyami questioned your location of where you took him to.

"Just follow me Tokoyami, your questions will be answered eventually." You replied to his question.

Tokoyami noticed that you guys were at a shooting range, which made him absolutely confused as to why you wanted to be here.

"Hello, how may I help you today?" The cashier asked.

"May I have a booth for two please?" You asked.

"Of course, you can pick your equipment by the tool shed and then just walk up to your booths. Price will be twenty dollars and twenty-one cents please." The cashier explained.

You smiled as you took some cash out of your pocket and gave it to the cashier.

Meanwhile, Tokoyami was trying to figure out why you brought him to a shooting range, it seemed entirely different from what you guys usually do on dates.

"Come on let's go get our equipment. Oh and I'll pick out your equipment Tokoyami." You said innocently smiling.

Tokoyami crossed his arms over his chest, "What are you planning Y/N?"

"You'll see." You replied.

You picked out a bow and arrow for Tokoyami, while you grabbed a revolver to practice your shooting skills specifically your accuracy.

You both walked into your booths and you had multiple targets in front of you, while Tokoyami stood in his booth. He was inspecting the bow that you picked for him. He knew how bows worked, he just never used one before.

You exited your booth and entered his. "Okay now just aim an arrow with the bow and hit the targets." You instructed.

Tokoyami's eye raised a little suggesting a 'really?' look.

"Just trust me." You said as you exited his booth.

Tokoyami aimed the bow and after a couple seconds he shot and the arrow hit the target. He was close to the center!

"Do it again!" You said.

Tokoyami shook his head as he grabbed another arrow and shot another one. This time it hit the center of the target!

"Huh, I didn't know I was so good at archery." Tokoyami commented.

You just chuckled as you leaned against the fence in the most sassiest pose ever.

"Your really good at this Tokoyami, you may already be the Rito champion." You said with an evil smirk on your face.

Tokoyami just started to sweat, "What is a Rito, Y/N?"

You chuckled as you walked on over to your booth, "This was so worth the drive. If only you knew Tokoyami, if only you knew."

I know that Denki could do this, but I have a head canon that Izuku could probably generate some sort of electricity on his own sense electricity shows around his body when he's powered with One for All.

Izuku Midoriya:

You both made it to the park, and sat on a bench. You and your boyfriend have been walking for at least thirty minutes and it's nice to finally give both of your legs a break.

You both sighed at the lack of pain that came from you're legs.

"It's so pretty out at night time wouldn't you agree Y/N? Y/N?" Izuku commented.

Izuku looked next to him to see that you were thinking about something.

"Y/N, if everything okay?" He asked you.

You got out of your daydreaming to see him looking a little worried.

"Oh I'm fine Izuku, it's just that I was wondering. Can you generate electricity from your powers? I mean it comes off from you when your powered up."

Izuku thought for a moment, "Yeah, I bet I could. Why are you asking?"

"Could you electrocute the sky, while saying "lighting with my hands" pleaaaaaaaaaaaaase?" You said showing your innocent eyes.

Izuku panicked slightly as he waved his hands innocently.

"I can't do that Y/N, isn't that illegal?" Izuku warned.

You sighed, "You could have at least done it in the open field in the forest."

Izuku sighed, "Fine, but after that I'm taking you home. I don't want our parents being worried about us for being up too late."

~~~~

Izuku stood in place as he took a deep breath. He was ready to embarrass himself in front of you and look stupid even though no one was around.

Izuku focused and converted his power into electricity and soon bolts came out of his hands and he waved his hands around causing the bolts of electricity to move in the air.

"Lightning with my hands! Lightning with my hands!" Izuku said as he danced around looking embarrassed.

All you could do was fall to the ground in fits of laughter as he danced around with lighting bolts that illuminated the area.

Masterlist

[pointless-letters]

Regret to inform you all that Barbara from Hull has gone and done a great big think

[platypusisnotonfire]

Rewatching free Willy and HELLO im now realizing my first fictional crush was the whale trainer whose name I don’t even know