Posted on 12/28/2002 3:15:35 PM PST by Rodney King
Celebrity killer whale Keiko appears to have made himself at home in a remote bay off Norway's northwest coast. Both Keiko and his keeper from Iceland were ready for their first Norwegian Christmas, with herring on the menu.
Thorbjorg Valdis Kristjansdottir, 31, came to Norway after Keiko surfaced in a Norwegian fjord on September 1. She had worked with him in Iceland to reintroduce Keiko to the wild after some 20 years of captivity and film stardom.
She has stayed with him and will spend the holidays alone with Keiko and the few families living along Taknes Bay. They've offered warm hospitality during the recently chilly weeks, and have invited Kristjansdottir to their traditional Christmas dinner of dried and smoked ribs of mutton pinnekjott and potatoes.
Keiko, meanwhile, will get some extra helpings of herring. "That's all he eats, he doesn't want anything else," Kristjansdottir told wire service NTB. "He'll also get an extra dose of tender loving care."
Keiko swims around in the bay all day long, and when he blows, he's heard all along the shoreline. Everyday, Kristjansdottir heads down to a dock. When Keiko's herring (sild) is ready, she calls to Keiko with a pipe-like instrument she places in the water. He's by her side within a few minutes.
He rolls over on his back in the hopes of getting patted, much like a cat does, she says, and she also checks his teeth, sometimes virtually putting her own head inside his mouth.
Can this killer whale ever really return to the wild?
Kristjansdottir thinks so. "The real Christmas Eve for Keiko will come in February, when the herring streams and other orcas arrive in the area," she said. The hope is that Keiko will join in with his fellow whales.
"They can have tight family ties, but they're also curious and open to playing with others," she said. "And we know that they won't kill members of their same species.
"So we hope Keiko will attach himself to a flock and follow them, even if as an outsider."
Keiko has spent the past 22 years with humans, since he was captured as a baby in the north Atlantic. He'd been kept in aquatic parks where he performed for the public until he starred in the film "Free Willy," which led to the effort to return him to the wild.
Meanwhile, daily life goes on in the Taknes Bay. "We feel very welcome here," said Kristjansdottir, speaking for both Keiko and herself
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