Keiko Whale

Iceland approved plans Tuesday to have "Free Willy" star Keiko moved from the Oregon Coast Aquarium to a large pen in an Icelandic bay, in preparation for the killer whale's release into his native waters. Iceland Prime Minister David Oddsson cleared the way for the move to take place as early as September. The orc was captured in that country at age 2.

Nearly 700 people turned out to bid farewell to Keiko, the killer whale who starred in the popular "Free Willy" movies and died of pneumonia last December in Norway. The crowd gathered at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, where Keiko lived from 1996 to 1998. Officials at the aquarium organized the event in response to hundreds of e-mails, letters and phone calls from Keiko's fans who sought closure.

Lolling on his side, he's treated to a back scratch. The day's session gets off to a slow start, but he finally jumps through all the hoops. "Good boy!" his trainer says, running both hands over his pupil. Keiko, the 8,000-pound orca, veteran marine park performer and star of "Free Willy" lifts his fin to give his trainer a better angle. His eyes fall shut. It has been five months since this lap dog of a leviathan was delivered to the Oregon Coast Aquarium amid much fanfare.

Keiko, the killer whale star of the "Free Willy" movies, was buried Monday during the deep darkness of Nordic winter in a ceremony kept secret from the public. "We wanted to let him be at peace," said Dane Richards, one of his caretakers. "He's free now and in the wild." The roughly 6-ton whale died Friday in a Norwegian bay where his team was trying to reintroduce him to the wild. His trainers said the likely cause of death was pneumonia.

Nearly 700 people turned out to bid farewell to Keiko, the killer whale who starred in the popular "Free Willy" movies and died of pneumonia last December in Norway. The crowd gathered at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, where Keiko lived from 1996 to 1998. Officials at the aquarium organized the event in response to hundreds of e-mails, letters and phone calls from Keiko's fans who sought closure.

Keiko, the killer whale star of the "Free Willy" movies, swam out of his pen into the enclosed waters of a remote Icelandic bay Friday to the delight of a nature group preparing him for a return to the wild. The 5-ton whale poked his nose through an underwater cage and moved into another pool where he will have medical tests.

Keiko, the killer whale star of the "Free Willy" movies, was buried Monday during the deep darkness of Nordic winter in a ceremony kept secret from the public. "We wanted to let him be at peace," said Dane Richards, one of his caretakers. "He's free now and in the wild." The roughly 6-ton whale died Friday in a Norwegian bay where his team was trying to reintroduce him to the wild. His trainers said the likely cause of death was pneumonia.

It took the efforts of a Seattle billionaire, the United States Air Force and thousands of children around the world, but a 9,050-pound killer whale-turned-Hollywood star was hoisted onto a C-17 cargo jet Wednesday and flown one step closer to freedom in his native waters in Iceland.

Elias Jonsson has never seen "Free Willy," the children's movie--"I must have been working then or something," he says politely--but he still has some well-informed views on plans now afoot to bring its 10,000-pound star home to native waters. Jonsson, a diver by trade, was hired back in the late 1970s--around the time "Willy" was caught and shipped south--to care for killer whales that Icelandic herring fishermen sometimes net by accident.

Keiko the killer whale, star of the film "Free Willy," is adjusting to life in the wild after years in captivity and is with a school of killer whales off Iceland's southern coast, scientists said Tuesday. "We are very excited and optimistic about Keiko's chances of surviving in the wild," said Hallur Hallsson, spokesman for Ocean Futures, which is monitoring Keiko's adaptation to the open seas.

Keiko, who gained fame starring in the "Free Willy" movies, has died in a Norwegian bay that he had made his home after a 10-year campaign failed to coax him back to the open seas. The whale, who was about 26 years old, died Friday after suddenly contracting pneumonia in the Taknes fjord in Norway. Caretaker Dane Richards said the illness struck the 25-foot mammal fairly quickly. In the wild, orcas, or killer whales, can live an average of 35 years.

Keiko the killer whale, star of the film "Free Willy," is adjusting to life in the wild after years in captivity and is with a school of killer whales off Iceland's southern coast, scientists said Tuesday. "We are very excited and optimistic about Keiko's chances of surviving in the wild," said Hallur Hallsson, spokesman for Ocean Futures, which is monitoring Keiko's adaptation to the open seas.

Keiko, the killer whale star of the "Free Willy" movies, swam out of his pen into the enclosed waters of a remote Icelandic bay Friday to the delight of a nature group preparing him for a return to the wild. The 5-ton whale poked his nose through an underwater cage and moved into another pool where he will have medical tests.

Iceland approved plans Tuesday to have "Free Willy" star Keiko moved from the Oregon Coast Aquarium to a large pen in an Icelandic bay, in preparation for the killer whale's release into his native waters. Iceland Prime Minister David Oddsson cleared the way for the move to take place as early as September. The orc was captured in that country at age 2.

Elias Jonsson has never seen "Free Willy," the children's movie--"I must have been working then or something," he says politely--but he still has some well-informed views on plans now afoot to bring its 10,000-pound star home to native waters. Jonsson, a diver by trade, was hired back in the late 1970s--around the time "Willy" was caught and shipped south--to care for killer whales that Icelandic herring fishermen sometimes net by accident.

Owners of the whale that starred in the hit movie "Free Willy" accused an aquarium Monday of putting greed ahead of the animal's well-being by saying he was too sick to be released into the wild. Keiko's arrival at the Oregon Coast Aquarium aboard a plane from an aquarium in Mexico in January 1996 had a storybook quality, with hundreds of cheering children lining the streets of this tourist town to welcome him.

Owners of the whale that starred in the hit movie "Free Willy" accused an aquarium Monday of putting greed ahead of the animal's well-being by saying he was too sick to be released into the wild. Keiko's arrival at the Oregon Coast Aquarium aboard a plane from an aquarium in Mexico in January 1996 had a storybook quality, with hundreds of cheering children lining the streets of this tourist town to welcome him.

Lolling on his side, he's treated to a back scratch. The day's session gets off to a slow start, but he finally jumps through all the hoops. "Good boy!" his trainer says, running both hands over his pupil. Keiko, the 8,000-pound orca, veteran marine park performer and star of "Free Willy" lifts his fin to give his trainer a better angle. His eyes fall shut. It has been five months since this lap dog of a leviathan was delivered to the Oregon Coast Aquarium amid much fanfare.