Movie Star Whale Gains Nearly A Ton

Keiko the killer whale topped the scales Thursday at a svelte 9,580 pounds, nearly a ton more than when he arrived from Mexico City 16 months ago.

Veterinarians weighed Keiko, a star of the movie “Free Willy”, by having him swim into a small pool, placing him in a sling and lowering the water level.

They also removed a broken tooth.

He has gained 1,860 pounds since he was flown to the Oregon Coast Aquarium and a 2 million gallon sea water tank built especially for him.

Keiko was suffering weight loss and a fungus infection in Mexico City, where he had spent 16 years in a warm saltwater pool at an amusement park.

The Free Willy Keiko Foundation, which led efforts to get Keiko transferred, said last month it would like to put Keiko in a pen in the North Atlantic, where he was captured, possible as early as next spring as a preliminary step toward returning him to the wild.

Others question whether he could survive in the wild after being raised by humans for nearly all of his life.

To determine whether Keiko can be released, the prestigious Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts and the University of California at Santa Cruz will gather data on his hearing, vocalization, echo location, breathing patterns, blood chemistry and DNA.

They hope to use the information to find the whale’s home waters, search for his pod and determine whether he would be able to survive in the wild.

It costs about $400,000 a year to pay for the whale rehabilitation facility, staff and food at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. But its popularity has doubled since Keiko’s arrival, attracting 1.32 million visitors last year, compared to about 600,000 in 1995.