Keiko's Story
Willy made his jump to freedom over a breakwater wall in the 1993 film "Free Willy". But in reality Keiko the orca that played Willy in the movie remained in captivity in poor health at a Mexico City amusement park. (Above picture shows Keiko performing in Mexico with trainer) Keiko was born into the Atlantic Ocean in 1977 and in 1979 he was captured off the coast of Iceland at age 2 in before he even learned how to catch fish for himself and sent to an aquarium in Iceland. In 1982 he was then sold to Marineland in Ontario, Canada for $8,000 and then resold for $350,000 to El Nuevo Reino Aventura (The New Kingdom Adventure) a Mexico City amusement park. Keiko was 10 feet long when he was sold to Reino Aventura.
A Short Stay in Canada...
Life in Mexico City
In Mexico Keiko shared a pool with one atlantic bottlenose dolphin named Richie. When Keiko first arrived in Mexico Officals at the park did not know how to care for a killer whale (orca). The tank in Mexico was only 22 feet deep and 196 feet long. After a few months Keiko's size and weight doubled. Keiko performed three times a day and learned all the usual tricks like jumping up out of the water to touch a ball and giving visitors a friendly kiss. He was as friendly as a family dog and aften came to the edge of the pool looking for someone to pet him or scratch his tongue. His trainer Karla Corral cared for him night and day and was his best friend.
In 1991 Lauren Shuler-Donner and Richard Donner (movie producers for Free Willy) go in search for the killer whale that would become a star. The first place they went to in search of a killer whale was Sea World in Orlando Florida. Sea World liked the idea but would not allow the movie to be filmed at their parks unless the ending was changed to the dolphin going to a better aquarium like Sea World. The Donners did not want to change the ending of their movie so they kept searching till they found out that a orca was living in a small tank in Mexico City that was all alone and wasn't to fancy. Keiko became a star.
Keiko in Oregon Photos
