Keiko the Killer whale has died

:(
CNN just now

now we can't Free Willy anymore. :cry:

very sad. He was sick then with some kind of skin disease.

RIP Keiko.

Such a sad existence for such a magnificent creature.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Entertainment/ap20031212_2279.html

before he passed this existence.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Entertainment/ap20031212_2279.html

Keiko the Killer Whale Dies in Norway
Keiko the Killer Whale, Star of 'Free Willy' Movies, Dies in Norway of Pneumonia at 27

The Associated Press



OSLO, Norway Dec. 12 — Keiko, the killer whale made famous by the "Free Willy" movies, has died, his caretakers said early Saturday.
The whale, who was 27, died Friday afternoon after the sudden onset of pneumonia in the Taknes fjord in Norway.






His handler, Dane Richards, said the disease struck the whale fairly quickly.

"He exhibited some signs of lethargy and lack of appetite," Richards told The Associated Press.

Richards said veterinarians had monitored Keiko's progress, but the whale died quickly.

"We checked his respiration rate and it was a little irregular ... he wasn't doing too well," Richards said. "Early in the evening, he passed away."

he was lethargic, hanging on the edge of the tank, not moving. THey said he was doing better, so he must have been pretty bad before that.

Not like the super-perky killer whales I remember from the Miami Seaquarium, who would pop up out of their tanks and squirt water on unsuspecting visitors when they felt like it.

This is so sad.

That is so sad. :-(

Several years ago, I donated to one of those Make a Wish foundations. A few weeks later I got a letter from the foundation saying that my donation had gone toward a little girl's last wish, which was to see Keiko the whale. Her family could not afford to make the trip from California so the foundation funded their trip. She died shortly thereafter :-( I've always thought of her every time Keiko was in the news. May they both rest in peace now.

MADE me watch it a hundred times.

"Long ago, in what is now south-eastern Alaska, a land rich in fish and fowl and furred creatures, Natsihlane, a skilled Tlingit Indian woodsman, went hunting with his brothers-in-law. All but the youngest were jealous of Natsihlane. They abandoned Natsihlane on a distant island, while the youngest despaired.

Natsihlane felt very sad and wondered if he would ever see his wife again. That night, a seagull came to him and flew with him to the home of the sea lions. Their chief put Natsihlane inside and inflated sea lion stomach, laid it in the water, and instructed him to think hard about the beach near his village. He soon found himself there and began to plan revenge on his brothers-in-law.

He got different pieces of wood and began to whittle blackfish. He tried spruce, then red cedar, then hemlock, painting each in stripes of different colours. But no amount of singing or shouting would bring them alive.

Finally, he carefully carved fine yellow cedar into eight large and small blackfish. He painted each with a white band across the head and a white circle on the dorsal fin. He sang his most powerful songs for them, commanding them to go. they swam about, and soon the bay was full of spray from their spouting and playing.

After many days, Natsihlane saw his brothers-in-laws' canoe far out at sea. He commanded the blackfish to destroy all but the youngest. They swam out and around and around the canoe. The men and the craft disappeared, but two blackfish saved the youngest brother-in-law and carried him towards the shore.

Natsihlane called the blackfish to him and said: 'When I made you I did not intend that you should kill human beings. I made you to get revenge on my brothers-in-law. Hereafter you shall not harm human beings but help them when they are in trouble. Now go.' And they swam out to sea, the first killer whales in the world."

Adapted from a Tlingit folktale

This is no reason to weep.

If you believe in an afterlife for animal spirits:
He is better off.
And surely beloved by the angels now.

If you believe in resurrection:
Surely a life as troubled and harsh suffered by one so gentle as he would result in a "higher station" next time.

If you believe neither:
He is no longer suffering.

A sickly animal was kept on the torturous razor's edge of life for years. That was nearly as sad as those who enslaved him in the first place.


edited for grammar

:-(

but it is still very sad. :cry:

You were stuck when you couldn't breathe anymore. I hope you are in peace now.

:(

My bad, I didn't even look throught he first page. :spank:

It sounds like he did quite a bit of traveling probably too much.