Daniel Alarcón

Keiko had lived in the care of humans and without his family since he was around two, missing out on years of life in a pod, years of company and hunting and language and what I can only think of as camaraderie, the kind of social environment that makes a killer whale a killer whale. He had millions of human fans, but not a single orca friend. There were so many things he'd never learned.

Keiko had lived in the care of humans and without his family since he was around two, missing out on years of life in a pod, years of company and hunting and language and what I can only think of as camaraderie, the kind of social environment that makes a killer whale a killer whale. He had millions of human fans, but not a single orca friend. There were so many things he'd never learned.

Not only did Keiko not know how to hunt for food, he didn't know how to eat live fish. Think about that. If you put a live fish in his mouth, this killer whale wouldn't eat it. And language. Keiko had stopped making most of the sounds in a wild whale's repertoire years before. Pods have different dialects, and it was unlikely Keiko even remembered the dialect he spoke before his capture.

Not only did Keiko not know how to hunt for food, he didn't know how to eat live fish. Think about that. If you put a live fish in his mouth, this killer whale wouldn't eat it. And language. Keiko had stopped making most of the sounds in a wild whale's repertoire years before. Pods have different dialects, and it was unlikely Keiko even remembered the dialect he spoke before his capture.

This was crucially important to his survival. Orcas very rarely live alone in the open ocean, so if he was to make it out there, Dave knew Keiko would have to be integrated into a pod. his original pod, preferably. But if you didn't speak their language, that was going to be difficult. And then there was a small detail that no one knew for certain which pod that might be or where to find them.

This was crucially important to his survival. Orcas very rarely live alone in the open ocean, so if he was to make it out there, Dave knew Keiko would have to be integrated into a pod. his original pod, preferably. But if you didn't speak their language, that was going to be difficult. And then there was a small detail that no one knew for certain which pod that might be or where to find them.

Somewhere in the North Atlantic, near Iceland, presumably.

Somewhere in the North Atlantic, near Iceland, presumably.

Did you do like a back of the envelope sort of like what's this going to cost thing like on the plane back?

Did you do like a back of the envelope sort of like what's this going to cost thing like on the plane back?

So 10 impossible steps, at least. But let's be real. For Dave, it was also one giant opportunity. Up until this point, Dave had been thinking about Keiko the way everyone in the world was thinking about Keiko, as one individual killer whale in need of saving. But what if he allowed himself to see it differently?

So 10 impossible steps, at least. But let's be real. For Dave, it was also one giant opportunity. Up until this point, Dave had been thinking about Keiko the way everyone in the world was thinking about Keiko, as one individual killer whale in need of saving. But what if he allowed himself to see it differently?

He'd experienced firsthand the hold that whales had over people at anti-whaling marches across the world. He'd seen the power that media campaigns could wield with the Save the Whales movement. This could be something much bigger. What if Keiko, the individual, could become Keiko, the symbol? What if you could use Keiko to tell a story about the ocean itself?

He'd experienced firsthand the hold that whales had over people at anti-whaling marches across the world. He'd seen the power that media campaigns could wield with the Save the Whales movement. This could be something much bigger. What if Keiko, the individual, could become Keiko, the symbol? What if you could use Keiko to tell a story about the ocean itself?

And Dave knew you could do a lot with that kind of star power, with that kind of attention. So he set aside his doubts and decided that, yes, as absurd as it sounded, he was all in. Once Dave committed to getting Keiko out of Mexico, the next step was logistics. And what I'm about to say is pretty obvious, but it's worth saying anyway. Moving an orca is not easy.

And Dave knew you could do a lot with that kind of star power, with that kind of attention. So he set aside his doubts and decided that, yes, as absurd as it sounded, he was all in. Once Dave committed to getting Keiko out of Mexico, the next step was logistics. And what I'm about to say is pretty obvious, but it's worth saying anyway. Moving an orca is not easy.

One of the first things Dave did was create a whole new organization, the Free Willy Keiko Foundation. The U.S. Humane Society chipped in a million dollars. Dave secured a couple million more from a billionaire cell phone magnet. Warner Brothers also agreed to put in $2 million, which sounds like a lot until you consider they made $150 million on Free Willy.

One of the first things Dave did was create a whole new organization, the Free Willy Keiko Foundation. The U.S. Humane Society chipped in a million dollars. Dave secured a couple million more from a billionaire cell phone magnet. Warner Brothers also agreed to put in $2 million, which sounds like a lot until you consider they made $150 million on Free Willy.

And by this point, the sequel, Free Willy 2, was already in production. Still, with that money, Dave was able to convince a small marine park in Oregon to let the foundation build them a new, much bigger pool just for Keiko. And so now, all Dave needed was the whale. which you might assume would be the hard part, given that Keiko was the main attraction at Reino Aventura.

And by this point, the sequel, Free Willy 2, was already in production. Still, with that money, Dave was able to convince a small marine park in Oregon to let the foundation build them a new, much bigger pool just for Keiko. And so now, all Dave needed was the whale. which you might assume would be the hard part, given that Keiko was the main attraction at Reino Aventura.