Death
Keiko died in Taknes Bay, Norway while under the care of personnel from The Free Willy-Keiko Foundation on December 12, 2003, at about 27 years of age. Pneumonia was later determined as his probable cause of death. Following requests from fans of the orca and Free Willy, the Oregon Coast Aquarium held a memorial service for him on February 20, 2004. 700 people attended the service, during which Thomas Chatterton, a veterinary chaplain said, "Keiko was not one of our kind but nonetheless, was still one of us."
There is a memorial site for Keiko set up by the locals in Halsa, Norway. Norwegian school children built a stone cairn to mark the spot where he is buried.
Read more about this topic: Keiko (orca)
Famous quotes containing the word death:
“when it comes to my death let it be slow,
let it be pantomime, this last peep show,
so that I may squat at the edge trying on
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—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
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—Germaine Greer (b. 1939)