Daniel Alarcón

Or rather, free Keiko. And so, if the studio wanted to avoid a PR nightmare and not break the hearts of millions of children, then it was clear. Someone had to save him. In real life. That's after the break. For centuries, we humans hunted and killed whales as if their numbers were infinite. And over time, we got better and better at it.

Or rather, free Keiko. And so, if the studio wanted to avoid a PR nightmare and not break the hearts of millions of children, then it was clear. Someone had to save him. In real life. That's after the break. For centuries, we humans hunted and killed whales as if their numbers were infinite. And over time, we got better and better at it.

More efficient, more ruthless, extracting more value from each kill. We harvested their blubber, their organs, their baleen, their meat, and it was all transformed into everyday commercial products, from makeup to heating oil. More than 700,000 whales were killed in the 1960s. Whaling was a huge global industry, with profits to match.

More efficient, more ruthless, extracting more value from each kill. We harvested their blubber, their organs, their baleen, their meat, and it was all transformed into everyday commercial products, from makeup to heating oil. More than 700,000 whales were killed in the 1960s. Whaling was a huge global industry, with profits to match.

The killing of orcas was a little different, since they didn't have much to offer us, commercially speaking. But, humans being humans, we killed them anyway. For fear, for sport, for bloodlust. Fishermen trawling for herring or salmon saw them as competitors, so they would shoot them on sight. The U.S. Navy would use orcopods for target practice.

The killing of orcas was a little different, since they didn't have much to offer us, commercially speaking. But, humans being humans, we killed them anyway. For fear, for sport, for bloodlust. Fishermen trawling for herring or salmon saw them as competitors, so they would shoot them on sight. The U.S. Navy would use orcopods for target practice.

All told, it's estimated that some 3 million individual whales were killed by humans in the 20th century. By the early 1970s, scientists understood that whales were far more scarce than we'd all previously thought, and began warning that the steep declines they were seeing in wild populations might be irreversible.

All told, it's estimated that some 3 million individual whales were killed by humans in the 20th century. By the early 1970s, scientists understood that whales were far more scarce than we'd all previously thought, and began warning that the steep declines they were seeing in wild populations might be irreversible.

In response, the Save the Whales movement was born, with the goal of ending commercial whaling worldwide, a bold, quixotic idea to convince the countries that still practiced whaling to simply stop. I'm telling you all this because in a way, everything that happens to Keiko a couple of decades later is a result of it, of this idea that these creatures were worth protecting.

In response, the Save the Whales movement was born, with the goal of ending commercial whaling worldwide, a bold, quixotic idea to convince the countries that still practiced whaling to simply stop. I'm telling you all this because in a way, everything that happens to Keiko a couple of decades later is a result of it, of this idea that these creatures were worth protecting.

And it's also when this next significant person in Keiko's life enters the story, a guy by the name of Dave Phillips. I was pretty young then.

And it's also when this next significant person in Keiko's life enters the story, a guy by the name of Dave Phillips. I was pretty young then.

It was the late 70s. The Save the Whales campaign was just starting to pick up steam, and Dave wanted in. So he packed up his life, drove his turquoise Volkswagen Rabbit out to California, and soon joined the movement to do his part.

It was the late 70s. The Save the Whales campaign was just starting to pick up steam, and Dave wanted in. So he packed up his life, drove his turquoise Volkswagen Rabbit out to California, and soon joined the movement to do his part.

So yeah, he was kind of a hippie, but he was a hippie with a degree in biology who found he was too impatient to spend his adult life in a lab studying the minutia of wildlife without doing anything to save it. Given the scale of the environmental crisis he saw, science moved too slowly for him. The central message for the Save the Whales campaign was simple. Whales are not commodities.

So yeah, he was kind of a hippie, but he was a hippie with a degree in biology who found he was too impatient to spend his adult life in a lab studying the minutia of wildlife without doing anything to save it. Given the scale of the environmental crisis he saw, science moved too slowly for him. The central message for the Save the Whales campaign was simple. Whales are not commodities.

They're living beings. This message was everywhere. There were bumper stickers and t-shirts emblazoned with the words Save the Whales. The slogan itself becoming so ubiquitous it was almost cliche, played as a punchline. There were Save the Whales marches and rallies across the world, and Dave was there for all of it.

They're living beings. This message was everywhere. There were bumper stickers and t-shirts emblazoned with the words Save the Whales. The slogan itself becoming so ubiquitous it was almost cliche, played as a punchline. There were Save the Whales marches and rallies across the world, and Dave was there for all of it.

Most importantly, he was there in 1982, a pivotal moment in his career, when the International Whaling Commission caved to the pressure and voted to impose a worldwide moratorium on commercial whaling. They'd done it. They'd saved the whales from what many felt was their almost certain extinction. So Dave learned two things. One, to succeed, your message had to be everywhere.

Most importantly, he was there in 1982, a pivotal moment in his career, when the International Whaling Commission caved to the pressure and voted to impose a worldwide moratorium on commercial whaling. They'd done it. They'd saved the whales from what many felt was their almost certain extinction. So Dave learned two things. One, to succeed, your message had to be everywhere.