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TOPIC: Science & Nature
COURTESY PHOTO
Keiko enjoys being rubbed down by Nolan Harvey and Ken Lytwyn of the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport.
Keiko swims closer to freedom
■ WHALE: Newport’s best
loved orca is on his way to
complete rehabilitation and
a possible 1998 release
By Eric Collins
Community Reporter
When he arrived underweight,
out-of-shape and overwhelming
ly lackadaisical, his trainer knew
he wasn’t ready for the fight.
With a viral infection he couldn’t
shake and a passive mentality
shielding his naturally aggressive
tendencies, his comeback
seemed more than a few years in
the distance. Yet, after only a
year’s worth of strength training,
cardiovascular workouts and
skill drills, Keiko the killer
whale, not Tyson or Holyfield, is
much closer to attaining the free
dom that he once knew nineteen
years ago.
However, like every great fight
er, Keiko has a great trainer in his
corner: Nolan Harvey. Harvey,
the curator of marine mammals
at Keiko’s rehabilitation facility,
the Oregon Coast Aquarium in
Newport, said major progress in
the whale’s mental and physical
health since his January 1996 re
location has prompted him to
speculate on a 1998 move out of
his current two-million gallon
homestead.
Harvey, who was hired by the
FreeWilly-Keiko Foundation in
1995 to work with Keiko, spoke
in Willamette Hall Friday night
about Keiko’s first year in New
port and the direction of whale
research in a session sponsored
by the Eugene Natural History
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Keiko, the orca-primer movie
star from the film Free Willy, was
in bad shape when he arrived in
Newport. Keiko’s poor health
was due to environmental condi
tions in his former home in the
Reino Aventura amusement park
in Mexico City, Harvey said.
Keiko was described as a “pool
potato,” and Harvey said the
man-made seawater, confining
pool and clockwork schedule all
contributed to viral infections,
weight loss and overall lack of
physical health.
"They realized he was going to
die in Mexico City,” Harvey said.
Fortunately for Keiko, the
move to Newport brought him
COURTESY PHOTO
into contact with a trainer willing
to whip him back into shape.
Part of this process has included
untraining the training Keiko has
received all his life, Harvey said,
which hinges on spontaneity.
“Keiko is not a training animal
anymore,” Harvey said. “He
needs to become a killer whale.”
Harvey said the three other
marine mammologists assigned
to Keiko have tried to constantly
stimulate him with “toys," hunt
ing exercises and interaction
with divers. These toys are worth
more than just entertainment,
however. Harvey said pushing
around his 200-pound water
filled ball and frolicking with 55
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