# Goodbye Keiko **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 13, 2003, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727 "2003-12-13T04:07:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727/1 "2003-12-13T04:07:04Z")
Killer Whale Keiko Dies of Pneumonia OSLO, Norway - Keiko, the killer whale made famous by the “Free Willy” movies, has died, his caretakers said early Saturday. The whale, who was 27, died Friday afternoon after the sudden onset of pneumonia in the Taknes fjord in Norway. His handler, Dane Richards, said the disease struck the whale fairly quickly. [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=502&ncid=716&e=9&u=/ap/20031213/ap\_on\_en\_mo/keiko\_dies](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=502&ncid=716&e=9&u=/ap/20031213/ap_on_en_mo/keiko_dies) ---
**Author:** ![Mastema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@Mastema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mastema)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727/2 "2003-12-13T04:15:35Z")
That’ll be a whale of a funeral to orca-strate.😃 Well, somebody had to say it. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727/3 "2003-12-13T04:23:19Z")
well **Mastema** , if any whale deseved a magificent funeral, I’d say he’d be the “right” whale for it. (Over 900 posts and I’m resorting to that ??!!) ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727/4 "2003-12-13T04:47:06Z")
Ah, well, at least he died relatively in freedom. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727/5 "2003-12-13T05:00:52Z")
Keiko was a he? Huh; I knew “Keiko” was a girl’s name in Japan, so figured the whale was a she. ---
**Author:** ![Mastema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@Mastema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mastema)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727/6 "2003-12-13T05:05:26Z")
What can we say about Keiko? He lived a good life, consuming several hundred pounds of raw fish a week and smimming sometimes 1000 miles. It always seems more tragic when someone goes who you thought was the picture of health. To go from Orca pup, in the cold northern waters of the Atlantic, to being a hollywood star while still so young. He handled the pressure with characteristic poise. There were some embarrasments to be sure, like the time he got caught ogling Shamu centerfolds. The media had a field day with that one. But for the most part he was popular, especially with the ladys. Hung like a whale isn’t just an expression you know. . . ---
**Author:** ![Joan\_of\_Argghh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/58956e/32.png) [@Joan\_of\_Argghh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joan_of_Argghh)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727/7 "2003-12-13T05:19:15Z")
mmmmm…blubber…mmmm! ahlghhhah! ---
**Author:** ![SanguineSpider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SanguineSpider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanguineSpider)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727/8 "2003-12-13T06:02:28Z")
Don’t ingest sea water, folks… whales make A LOT of sperm! ---
**Author:** ![Mastema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@Mastema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mastema)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727/9 "2003-12-13T06:15:07Z")
Did I really type “ladys” up there? Ughhh!!! My high school English teacher just rolled over in her grave. Ladies Ladies Ladies Ladies Ladies In an unrelated note, has anyone but me noticed how many of **SanguineSpider** ’s posts are sex related? Yeah, I knew there was a reason I search for her OP’s. ---
**Author:** ![SanguineSpider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SanguineSpider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanguineSpider)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727/10 "2003-12-13T06:22:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mastema \* > \*\*Did I really type “ladys” up there? > > Ughhh!!! My high school English teacher just rolled over in her grave. > > Ladies Ladies Ladies Ladies Ladies > > In an unrelated note, has anyone but me noticed how many of **SanguineSpider** ’s posts are sex related? > > Yeah, I knew there was a reason I search for her OP’s. \*\* :eek: Lies… all lies! ---
**Author:** ![Mastema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@Mastema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mastema)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727/11 "2003-12-13T06:44:01Z")
Why would I lie about my high school English teacher? ---
**Author:** ![Harlow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Harlow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harlow)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727/12 "2003-12-13T08:51:52Z")
Uh…so what will happen to the whale’s body? Are they grinding it up for fish food or let it float out to sea and stay there? ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727/13 "2003-12-13T09:14:10Z")
Hopefully they will take the body and sell the meat . . . mmmmm… whale flesh . . . . :drools: ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727/14 "2003-12-13T15:25:20Z")
And I thought this was going to another Star Trek thread. RIP, whale… ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727/15 "2003-12-13T17:20:04Z")
This sounds lame, but what a nice whale! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![truthbot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@truthbot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/truthbot)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727/16 "2003-12-13T19:42:20Z")
What a bummer. I saw Keiko often when he was still at the Newport Aquarium. My eldest grandson got to see him and still has his ‘Keiko’ plush whale. I’ve never seen “Free Willy” but I supported the decision to send him back home to Norway. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727/17 "2003-12-13T19:45:08Z")
Yeah, but **truthbot** , his home was Iceland. He went to Norway himself, they reckon for human companionship. Poor poor Keiko … ☹ ---
**Author:** ![truthbot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@truthbot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/truthbot)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727/18 "2003-12-13T20:22:05Z")
He had been seperated from his family units since he was a baby. Maybe he was pining for the fjords? ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727/19 "2003-12-13T20:25:08Z")
How sad. Killer whales are such beautiful animals. I wonder what happened with that amusement park they got him from - did they replace him with another whale or shut down that aspect? After all, it’s no better if there’s still another whale in that environment. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727/20 "2003-12-13T21:13:49Z")
Man, the tribute to the dead at the 2004 Oscars is going to be _huge_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-keiko/218727.md?page=2)