Killing Keiko (53 page)

A related and more serious problem involves Keiko’s occasional “bumping” of boats.
He contacted both “walk” boats and the Heppni Ein (while being used for transfers
to and from the bay pen) many times during 2000 and 2001, very occasionally with some
serious force. This included lifting the boat out of the water. On one occasion in
2001 Keiko approached a small fishing boat and may have contacted the boat or nets
on some manner, as following encounter he has new cracked teeth and missing skin on
his back. There was also an incident reported last summer when Keiko apparently bumped
a zodiac and/or exhibited solicitous behavior towards the zodiac while away from the
“walk” boat. Another concern is that Keiko is habituated to OFS vessels that have
jet drives or prop guards, and could potentially be injured by closely approaching
a boat with a propeller. Finally, this type of behavior towards fishing vessels, either
in Iceland or the Faroe Islands, may potentially endanger the animal through human
actions if he is not closely monitored
.

A final concern is related to the longevity and experience of current animal care
staff involved in the project. As of May 2002, every original American animal care
staff member had left the project and a new staff was hired for the 2002 season. The
majority of the authors of this letter took part in the rehabilitation of Keiko in
Newport, the transport to Iceland, and two seasons of reintroduction. It is our understanding
that at this time there is currently no animal care staff member with long-term experience
with this animal and/or familiarity with all aspects of Keiko’s rehabilitation, history
and behavior on site. We are concerned not with the qualifications of the current
staff, simply with the lack of an experienced
long-term perspective related to his behavior during previous reintroduction attempts
and in comparison to the behavior of other killer whales. We are concerned that this
may hamper the ability of the current animal care staff to provide accurate interpretations
of his behavior and ability to continue to thrive in the wild
.

The goal of the project has always been to provide Keiko every opportunity for reintroduction
while conducting the project in a responsible manner. As stated in the original Reintroduction
Protocols submitted to NMFS and the Icelandic Government on May 19, 2000
:

The project has been designed and implemented as an experimental effort to determine
the feasibility of reintroducing a long-term solitary captive killer whale to the
natural environment. During each phase of the project, the welfare of the animal has
been the highest priority and careful behavioral and physical conditioning steps have
been taken to ensure the highest chances of success for reintroduction. As the project
progresses towards open ocean access and potential reintroduction, the outcome will
continue to be based on the welfare of the subject animal, as determined by positive
physical and behavioral responses. Plans and protocols to increase chances of success,
minimize risk, and conduct the effort in a responsible controlled manner have been
developed and will be implemented throughout the reintroduction (pg 3)
.

In closing, we feel that it is critical to closely monitor the animal via direct observations
for an extended period and via remote tracking. We realize that the current location
of the animal makes this more challenging, but given our concerns we feel it is even
more important since he is in unfamiliar waters. Our hope is that as outlined in the
original reintroduction protocols, direct monitoring will occur for a minimum of a
month and the goal with the satellite/VHF tag is for remote monitoring for a period
of one year. In addition, we feel it is important that Ocean Futures and The Humane
Society are prepared to intervene on
different levels including recapture if deemed necessary
.

Anyone every involved in this project (the Board and management included) have invested
enormous amounts of time, work, and emotion in this project, and hope to see it succeed.
We raise these issues in the spirit of providing the best possible long-term care
for the animal. Our goal is to try to ensure the rest of the project is conducted
in a safe, responsible manner that optimizes Keiko’s quality of life and minimizes
risk to the animal
.

Back at the Icelandic base of operations, Michael continued to plot the satellite
waypoints, day after day updating his maritime chart with more and more pins. Finally,
twenty-two days after leaving his walk-boat, the last confirmed visual sighting, Keiko
hit land-fall near Halsa, Norway. Alone.

The information surrounding Keiko’s departure from Iceland and arrival in Halsa remained
largely steeped in mystery and speculation. Although it appeared likely he initially
followed a wild pod during the stormy departure, he did not remain with the pod. No
eyewitness account existed to confirm whether or not Keiko was ever with his own kind
during the missing three weeks. Regardless of what transpired in that time, the outcome
defied speculation. Keiko returned to what he wanted or needed most.

HSUS was officially at the helm during this last fateful season at sea, and thus Naomi
Rose played a pivotal role in decision-making. Her perspective on the release stemmed
from a foundation of observing behavior in order to define it. Evident in her outspoken
animosity toward animal behaviorists, Naomi obstinately denied the very foundations
of behavioral science as artificial, assigning them to the constructs of zoological
parks alone.
This isn’t a show. We don’t need trainers to release a whale, we need biologists
. It was thoughts like these that likely colored Naomi’s view of what Keiko needed
most.

Offensive as the undervaluing of Keiko’s conditioning was, this aspect and other deficiencies
were only symptoms of a far more
Machiavellian undercurrent. The secretive and shared mandate between Earth Island
Institute and HSUS of “release at all costs” ran counter to the decisions taking place
on the high seas. Decisions that dictated Keiko’s lifelong devotion to man would prevail
despite any contrary notion held by the organizational dynamic duo. Whispered within
the halls of the FWKF, the phrase “better dead than fed” aptly described the intent
and obsession that paradoxically led to Keiko’s absolute dependence on man.

First to reach Keiko’s location near the small village of Halsa were Colin and a temporary
addition to the release team, Fernando Ugarte. Fernando was there in place of Jen
to carry on the collection of identification or ID data pertaining to the wild whales.
He had worked alongside Colin with regularity over the past several months of the
expeditions at sea.

In their first sighting of Keiko, Friday, August 30, 2002, they merely assessed his
condition. In an attempt to avoid reconnecting the broken chain of custody, they first
observed from afar, hoping not to attract the pseudo-free whale. But Keiko’s interest
in boats was too great. Investigating the lingering craft, Keiko eventually spotted
Colin on her decks. He waited patiently, as he always did, to be acknowledged. Their
presence discovered, Colin and Fernando accepted the momentary defeat and allowed
the interaction, continuing with closer inspection of their long-lost friend. After
three weeks missing, they did not know what to expect. Outwardly, the whale appeared
much as he was when they had last seen him.

Throughout this day, much to their liking, Keiko ignored the boating traffic in the
area. On his second day in Norway, satisfied with the circumstances at hand, Colin
decided to give Keiko a break, leaving him alone to his own devices. The mistake became
apparent soon enough. In their absence, children from the small seaside town swam
and played with the whale. Images of the encounter spread like wildfire, and soon
the spectacle attracted the masses.

All walks of people poured out from the small village, crowding the bay to witness
the world-famous whale. Quickly gaining comfort with the storied celebrity, they boarded
vessels from makeshift dinghies to small fishing boats making their way into his watery
world. Encounters ranged from pats on the head to full body rubdowns rivaling those
afforded by his past family of trainers. The boldest of his endearing visitors entered
the water with Keiko on occasion, some even crawling onto his back. Keiko could not
have been more entertained, swimming from hand to hand and boat to boat. The unanticipated
entourage of fans provided Keiko his warmest welcome to a new home he had experienced
in a long time.

To Colin and Fernando, the scene before them was profoundly unsettling. Here was Keiko,
the recipient of so much effort over so long a journey full of trial and tribulation,
nestled snugly in the calm waters off Halsa and entertained endlessly with human affections.
He was not with wild whales. Whatever had brought him across the Atlantic to Halsa,
be it wild whales, shipping traffic or prevailing currents … none of that mattered
now. Keiko was back with his human family and seemed perfectly content to remain just
so. Colin and Fernando tried desperately to keep the mass of humanity away from Keiko,
but no matter their efforts, the attraction could not be thwarted. Friendly Norwegians
plastered themselves around Keiko and he, starved of such attentions for so long,
accepted them unconditionally.

The attraction went on for several days. At times Keiko seemed drained from the constancy
of undying attention and swam away coming to rest in deeper water, only to find himself
surrounded again by troops of Halsa citizens. The townspeople fed him on occasion.
Keiko willingly took the offerings, at times swimming among the variety of watercraft
with his head above the surface and mouth gaping wide.

In the midst of the frenzied love affair, there was some encouragement to be found.
When they could, the staff inspected Keiko’s outward condition, taking measurements
of his girth at multiple
locations. By this metric, Keiko had not lost even a centimeter of girth over the
course of his three-week journey across the Atlantic. Anecdotally, the staff hypothesized
that he must have eaten on his own.
How else could he have maintained his weight?

If only it were true. Unbeknownst to the inexperienced staff, measurements alone are
not an adequate indicator of weight loss in an animal such as a killer whale. A whale
of Keiko’s size can easily persist without food for more than six weeks without any
measurable change in body condition. Furthermore, the appraisal failed to account
that Keiko had been conditioned through similar fasting periods in the prior two seasons
of open ocean walks.

At this late hour, reliable evidence of feeding over the period could only be gained
from blood samples, ultrasound measurements of his blubber layer, skilled evaluation
of his post-nuchal fat stores (the area of his head just behind the blowhole) and
muscular condition. But even then, for such information to be useful, other comparable
baseline information would have to exist from Keiko’s state during normal healthy
periods. These metrics were not obtained, nor did the comparative data exist to substantiate
the information even if they had been.

The first responsibility at Keiko’s reemergence in Norway was to confirm that he was
unharmed and otherwise healthy. Direction in assessing Keiko’s health fell under the
purview of Dr. Cornell. Lanny knew any real evidence would fly in the face of assertions
that Keiko had sustained his dietary needs for three weeks at sea. A common thread
throughout the battle over the release permit itself, Lanny was skilled at avoiding
the hangman’s noose. He had learned from decades of practice not to give the hangman
a noose in the first place. In fact, one of the first actions taken by the misguided
release staff was feeding Keiko, an act akin to driving a truck through a crime scene,
thus spoiling any chance of clinical confirmation of foraging or the lack thereof.

Conveniently, the
post hoc
reasoning worked seamlessly into the public relations spin proffered by HSUS. News
of Keiko’s grand adventure across the North Atlantic reached the United States
and with it, the idea that sustained body weight proved Keiko had successfully foraged.
Across the States the widespread team of expats that had originated the release effort,
now sentenced to the sidelines, watched as events unraveled. To a person they each
knew Keiko was in jeopardy. They had predicted this outcome. Gnawing frustration,
even outrage, ate away at their patience. Keiko had returned to human dependence and
yet the vilest of the agenda-driven organizations dismissed this undeniable truth.
Tied hopelessly to their mission, the dramatic retelling convinced an unsuspecting
public that Keiko had frolicked at sea for three weeks with his own kind. They painted
the event as a milestone in Keiko’s progress to freedom.

Apart from the court of public opinion, the permit itself required intervention, which
among other things mandated lifelong substantive care. By definition, Keiko had failed
to integrate socially, failed to thrive. He had not demonstrated avoidance of humans
or man-made things. He had purposefully and predictably chosen the only family he
had ever known.

Nonetheless and according to news sources, HSUS would continue to encourage Keiko’s
journey to freedom. In so doing, avoiding the responsibility (and the cost) demanded
by the uncomplicated outcome.

Almost immediately, images of children interacting with Keiko and boat loads of people
petting the star of
Free Willy
went viral across the Internet. The outcome never more clear, to even the most distanced
reporter, Keiko’s homecoming and flopped release was aptly described by numerous news
outlets. It seemed undeniable to all that Keiko’s release had failed, to all but HSUS,
to all but Naomi. Reacting to the blitz of human affection, and to no small degree,
Keiko’s obvious reciprocity, HSUS sought assistance from the Norwegian government
in eliminating the entourage of public fondness running afoul.