For those that have not listened, the Good Whale is a podcast about the story of Keiko the Orca, who famously starred in Free Willy. It’s an captivating podcast. They did an amazing job telling the story.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/podcasts/serial-good-whale.html
Writing a bit of speculation and opinion here, after listening to the podcast and reading up on the behavior of Orcas in general.
How did Keiko end up in Norway?
Keiko was with the pod for the 1000 mile journey from Iceland to Norway, that’s why he ate so well, and arrived healthy. But the pod likely rejected him at that point and that is why he switched from the pod to playing with humans in Norway. This is when he was found.
Why did the pod reject him?
Because neurologically he was mute and unable to communicate, hunt or interact with the group meaningfully. Socially, he would have been uncanny valley at best with the other orcas. After watching a few hours of documentary footage about Orcas, it’s clear that they are exceptionally social, cultural (yes!) and coordinate constantly. They mostly hunt as a group. Keiko might of gotten hand outs for a few days, but I believe had a high chance for rejection, being so different to these other animals unable to speak with them. It’s human conceit that we believe otherwise. Keiko was taken to meet wild pods 60+ times and in each instance there was no connection there.
Opinion:
It was wrong at this stage for the foundation to push for further reintroductions and Keiko should have gone back to Oregon where he was healthy and loved, or stayed in the sea pen. Keiko was not a good candidate for permanent reintroduction, with the thin exception made if they located his mother, or developed a similar bond. He lasted in the wild for only a very brief moment.
Ending
The whole story is insanely sad. After reading into it, it does appear other animals are reintroduced successfully [case by case]. It also appears clear that the practice of capturing baby orcas, selling them to water parks continues to this day.
Always make sure you see these animals in the wild and not at a park. What a great podcast and what a great animal Keiko was.