Posted on 09/02/2002 9:15:10 AM PDT by RodgerD
Famous whale 'Keiko' swims into fjord
The celebrity whale known as "Keiko," made famous in the movie "Free Willy," apparently swam into a Norwegian fjord over the weekend. He both startled and delighted a local family, while marine experts were jubilant.
Experts are quite sure that the famous whale Keiko has found his way to Norway.
Arild Birger Neshaug had a memorable boat trip on the Skaalvik Fjord on Norway's west coast Sunday. He, his daughter and two friends were out in his open boat when they suddenly found themselves accompanied by a playful whale that experts are convinced was none other than "Keiko." An amazed Neshaug told newspaper VG that the whale came up out of the water just a half-meter from his open, wooden craft.
"At first we were a bit scared, and weren't sure whether the whale would attack or just wanted to say hello," Neshaug told VG. "But then he just stayed with us, and couldn't have been more friendly."
The whale clearly wasn't scared off himself by Norway's long and controversial whaling tradition. Neshaug said the whale seemed eager to play, and it didn't take long before the children were patting it and offering it freshly caught mackerel.
"I've never seen anything like it," Neshaug said. "The whale seemed completely tame." Soon the children were in the water as well, swimming with the whale and riding on his back.
"The whale seemed literally starved for affection," Neshaug said.
(Excerpt) Read more at aftenposten.no ...
Bastesen is famous for a trademark piece of clothing.
He always wears a vest made of sealskin. Unfortunately, this is sealskin that he cleaned and cured himself, without really being an expert. The result is that he tends to have a very wide "personal space" ;).
"No Eric and Heidi, you can't keep him - but you can play on his back. Just don't let him take you for a 200-foot-deep dive in his mouth"
Melville, in "Moby Dick" has Stubb give these instructions to the Pequod's cook for preparing sperm whale steaks:
"Hold the steak in one hand, and show a live coal to it with the other; that done, dish it"
For the sake of the kids I just hope willie isn't starved for anything else.
a.cricket
Nah, Orcas are a hundred per cent harmless. If you're human, that is. If you're a seal or a polar bear, on the other hand, you're instant snack ;).
And of course these are cold waters, with no sharks. But where there are sharks, whales will drive them away from humans.
I'll bet they drive the sharks away, humans or not. For the most part sharks are competiters for the same food, polar bears aside I would think. But the seals, sea lions and all sorts of fish are food for Jaws just as much as for Shamoo or Willy. Of course the ocras are bigger and much smarter.
Well, they do of course. But there are documented cases of whales actually driving sharks in the process of attacking humans away from their prey, without touching the humans. There are also cases on record of whales saving humans who would have drowned, in some cases depositing them onto dry land.
So humans are food for sharks, but not for Orcas. You will not find a single case, I think, of an Orca attacking people. At the same time, other large mammals are food for Orcas.
Not gonna happen :). And while an Orca might swallow a few seals, baby or otherwise, you'll not see them "tearing them apart". It's just a quick swallow.
However: we're all waiting for Mr. Bastesen to take a swim. He smells of... walrus.
I would have titled it "Orca having a good day" I guess it is all in how you look at it. ;^)
a.cricket
Sources, please. Journal name, #/volume, page #, author name.
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