Today in History

December 12, 2003
Free Willy
Keiko the killer whale—and star of the movie Free Willy, about a captive orca released in the wild—dies of pneumonia in a Norwegian fjord. Mirroring the movie, the 27-year-old killer whale had been released into the wild in Iceland in 2002 after spending 23 years in captivity. Despite several years of reintroduction training, the six-ton orca never entirely adapts to life in the wild, depending on humans for food and refusing to return to the open sea after finding his new home in Norway.



Today's Feature History Article

Whale of a Tale

When Luna, a people-loving orca, chose Vancouver Island's Nootka Sound for his home, he set in motion a drama of leviathan proportions




 



Advertisement