Where's My Ocean Keikok Analysis

Where’s my Ocean: Keiko’s Story Not many of us really think about how blessed we are to be free. We can go wherever we want to, when we want to, nobody can order us around, and there are laws to limit injustice. However, for many orcas and dolphins, this unfortunately isn’t the case. People treat them as ‘things,’ not living animals.

Born on September 24th, 1976, Keiko the orca led a tough life. His name did not reflect his life at all. Keiko means “lucky one” or “blessed child” in Japanese, and Keiko was anything but lucky. He was one of the many unfortunate orcas plucked from their families in the ocean and taken into captivity and the limited space of a tank. He was captured in 1979, near Reyðarfjörður, Iceland, when he was only three

Studio, the film company who produced Free Willy, decided to make an attempt to find Keiko a better home (Keiko). “That was essential because the pool for the now 21-foot-long orca was only 22 feet deep, 65 feet wide and 114 feet long and the water temperature was often excessive.” Quoted Wikipedia. With help of donations, Keiko was able to be moved to a concrete tank in Oregon that held 2 million gallons of seawater. This was only temporary, though. By June 1997, his weight had increased significantly. “The process of preparing Keiko for the wild began on September 9, 1998, when he was flown to Klettsvík, a bay on the island of Heimaey in Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland” (Keiko). The Free Willy Keiko Foundation was in charge of caring for Keiko with management help from Ocean Futures Society. Ocean Futures left the Keiko project in late 2001 (Keiko). The Humane Society of the United States later joined The Free Willy Keiko Foundation and reestablished management. After much preparation, Keiko was finally released into the wild in Summer, 2002. A VHF (very high frequency) tag was attached to his dorsal fin to track him. About a month later, he was spotted in Norway's Skålvik Fjord, probably seeking human contact. He let children to ride on his back and interacted with all of the people. For the next 15 months, Keiko’s caretakers continued to follow him to Norway. Keiko occasionally approached pods of wild orcas, but he mostly remained alone. Unfortunately, Keiko died

It was established in Chippenham in Wittshire, UK. "WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, is the leading charity dedicated to the protection of whales and dolphins. Our vision is a world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free.Our mission is to amaze people with the wonder of whales and dolphins and inspire global action to protect them." Says WDC on their website.

WDC is working for a world where whales and dolphins are no longer subjected to the cruelty of captivity (WDC). WDC has created sea sanctuaries where whales and dolphins held in captivity can be relocated to live more natural lives if they cannot be returned to the wild, they are stopping the supply of whales and dolphins to captive facilities, and they are ending demand for whale and dolphins shows (WDC). “WDC has been campaigning against keeping whales and dolphins in captivity for 30 years. Some recent successes include: Working with the Indian government, we helped secure a national ban on keeping whales and dolphins in captivity. Through our campaign’s work, Virgin has committed to secure from its partners a pledge to no longer take whales and dolphins from the ocean.” WDC says on their website. WDC also helped prevent the import of wild caught