The story of Keiko is a fascinating and tragic one. The male orca was born in the waters off Iceland in 1977 and was nearly two years old when he was captured by fishermen. He was taken in the ...

Most people who grew up in the 1990s remember Free Willy, the feel-good movie that convinced millions that a whale could gain freedom from captivity if only given the chance. For a generation, it ...

Nearly 700 people, some wiping away tears, turned out to bid farewell to Keiko, the killer whale who starred in the popular “Free Willy” movies, and died overseas in December. The crowd gathered ...

Controversy still surrounds the fate of the killer whale Keiko, who was the star of the feel-good 1993 movie “Free Willy.” That movie climaxed with a fairy-tale leap over a jetty, as Willy escaped ...

OSLO, Norway - For kids, Keiko the killer whale was the charming hero of "Free Willy." For biologists, he was the focus of fierce debate on whether captive animals could be returned to the wild. Keiko ...

It has been more than 28 years since Keiko landed with a splash in Oregon. Keiko who, you may ask? Keiko was a male orca captured in the Atlantic Ocean near Iceland in 1979 as a 2-year-old. He was ...

After helping Free Willy taste freedom, Dave Phillips is working to give two other orcas a life outside captivity, Phillips, a director of the International Marine Mammal Project at Earth Island ...

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Keiko, who gained fame starring in the Free Willy movies, has died in a Norwegian bay that he made his home after a 10-year campaign failed to coax him back to the open seas. The ...

Keiko, the world’s most famous orca, didn’t like the movie that made him a star. “Keiko would swim away when they put the tape of ‘Free Willy’ on his TV,” Diane Hammond recalls with affection. “He ...

In the history of celebrated animals, not one — neither Lassie nor Flipper nor the Lone Ranger’s great horse Silver — has come close to achieving the notoriety of a killer whale named Keiko. Certainly ...

Keiko, the killer whale made famous by the "Free Willy" movies, has died in Norwegian coastal waters where he remained after millions of dollars and a decade of work failed to coax him back to the ...