PHOTO BY PAT BATES
septem D er 18. 1998 • Ju st out g
■
Amanda Colorado (left) and Keiko
Pat Bates (right) with Keiko and one of his trainers
O rca A unties S hare T heir W hale of a T ale
Before Keiko left, a Just Out staff member met with the wonderful creature and the women who cared for Keiko during his stay in Oregon
by R enée L aC hance
bank of video monitors lit the
■■A
faces of everyone in the room.
Cameras were trained around the
tank at the Oregon Coast
Aquarium in Newport, keeping
vigilance over the most famous killer whale in
the world: Keiko.
At that moment, the big guy checked out his
visitors in the aquarium gallery. The flashes from
cameras chased him to the back of his tank.
Then he remembered the people at his other
window. He sauntered over and lixiked in at
those gathered to see him.
“He wants us to come up and see him,”
m m%
Amanda Colorado interpreted from body lan
guage I didn’t even notice. “He finally realized
we were trainable. For a while he thought we
were just stupid or stubborn because we didn’t do
what he asked of us.”
Colorado, Pat Bates, Pam Neff and Pam
Williams have worked as “whale enrichment
devices” for Keiko since last fall. One day Bates
got a call from the office manager at the Free
The orca aunties (from left: Pam Neff, Pat Bates, Pam Williams and Amanda Colorado) toast
Willy Keiko Foundation office in Newport. The
Keiko’s safe departure
office manager asked Pat if she could get togeth
er a crew to watch over the killer whale on short been any mention of Keiko’s aunties in the old would enjoy (like peekaboo); they amused
Keiko with windup orcas, books and movies.
notice just for a weekend. Sure she could. What major media coverage.
During the year prior to Keiko’s departure, an
“It’s hard being invisible,” said Colorado.
began as a three-day assignment turned into a
“No one even knows what we do or what he orca auntie monitored Keiko during the night,
year’s worth of wonder.
; taking care of his every need.
We climbed the stairs to the top of the tank means to us.”
“The trainers spend the day telling Keiko
She and the three other orca aunties (or orca
and walked along a catwalk to where Keiko
floated on the surface. He sprayed us with his babes, as Williams prefers to be called) were what to do. We get to just hang with him and
breath and turned an eye up to get a better look Keiko’s support staff. All lesbians, they worked tell him how wonderful he is,” said Colorado.
at his visitors.
“It’s impossible to tell people how special he
The aunties a ll speak with intense love and reverence for Keiko.
is, you just have to meet him,” Colorado said.
Each believes killer whales are incredibly intelligent beings that shouldn't be
As I approached his black-and-white head, I
began to understand what she meant. He truly
held captive, and they hope the foundation rehabilitates other
seemed aware of us and glad for our quiet com
pany.
killer whales and dolphins because o f Keiko's success.
Colorado introduced me to Keiko and he lift
“He’s an incredibly intelligent creature,”
ed up his nose to be rubbed. Colorado scratched behind the scenes caring for and watching over
added
Williams. “One of the first times I was
Keiko
during
the
hours
when
his
trainers
were
him with both hands and talked baby talk to
here, I looked in his eye and it was that same
him. He felt like a cross between an olive and a off-duty.
connection
you get when you meet a woman for
The
aunties
prepared
his
salmon,
herring
and
hard-boiled egg, she said. Keiko, meanwhile,
squid for the day, maintained his tank and the the first time and you know there’s something
appeared to really enjoy the attention.
During the two years he lived at the Oregon tanks of the live fish that he had learned to eat. special.”
She continued: “One evening he was vocal
Coast Aquarium, the media frequently covered They observed his behavior and health at regu
izing,
which meant that he wanted something. I
lar
intervals.
They
played
games
any
three-year-
Keiko and Keikos keepers, but there hasn’t ever
A
finally figured out to turn on his play jets, and he
set his blue ball next to me on the wet walk as if
to say, ‘Thanks human, here’s your fish.’ ”
The orca aunties did not get to travel to
Iceland with Keiko to see him safely home. They
stayed behind to box things up, to celebrate
Keiko’s journey and to grieve the loss of their
charge.
But it is obvious to any observer that Keiko’s
aunties love him like a nephew. Bates, Colorado,
Neff and Williams put their lives on hold to
work swing and graveyard shifts to care for
Keiko.
“It has been overwhelming and an honor to
be part of this whole thing,” said Neff. “1 came to
watch when Keiko arrived and I got to see him
off. It is great to come full circle. Now I’m ready
to get back to my life.”
Each is thankful for her time with him, and
they all look forward to getting their lives back
to some semblance of normalcy.
“It has been the most amazing gift from the
universe to get to hang out with that whale,”
said Colorado.
Still, one wonders, who could go back to
being nonnal after spending a year up close and
personal with a killer whale?
The aunties all speak with intense love and
reverence for Keiko. Each believes killer whales
are incredibly intelligent beings that shouldn’t
be held captive, and they hope the foundation
rehabilitates other killer whales and dolphins
because of Keiko’s success. They even wistfully
hope to be a part of it.
Bates spent every full truxin during the past
year with Keiko.
“At night, in the moonlight, that’s the best
time to be with him. It’s magic,” she said. “The
last full moon we made a bond together that
we’ll connect that way every Rill mixm."
She held her heart and tearfully added: “I
know he said yes.”
Keikos first full moon in Iceland will be Oct.
5. Though no orca aunties will be monitoring
Keiko to see if he turns his head toward the
moonlit sky that night, it is certain Bates and the
other orca aunties will look at the moon and
remember their magic year with Keiko.