Squabble Stalls Free Keiko Movement Set To Be Released, Orca’s Health Debated

The warm and fuzzy story of Keiko the celebrity killer whale lost a little of its storybook quality this week after a public spat between the whale’s former and current handlers.

After months of assurances that Keiko was becoming stronger and better equipped for eventual release into the North Atlantic, officials at the Oregon Coast Aquarium this week raised questions about the whale’s health. Officials at the Free Willy-Keiko Foundation, which now oversees Keiko’s care, assure that the whale is healthy.

However, aquarium officials, claiming they’re being kept in the dark about a recent respiratory infection and parasites, have called for an evaluation by an independent team of veterinarians.

Keiko’s trainers said they wouldn’t object to such an evaluation, but they contend there’s nothing to worry about.

“Keiko’s perfectly fine,” said Beverlee Hughes, the foundation president. “We have nothing to hide.”

Nolan Harvey, the foundation’s curator of marine mammals, said the aquarium staff members who are alleging improper care, “don’t understand what we’re trying to do and may not have the background we have.”

In addition to the independent evaluation of Keiko’s health, Hughes said her staff has ordered blood tests for Keiko to be analyzed by an independent laboratory. Test results will be released to the media.

Meanwhile, both sides acknowledge ongoing negotiations to iron out differences about the role each group should play in the future of the killer whale. After gaining fame as the star of the “Free Willy” movies, Keiko became a huge Oregon tourist attraction and generator of revenue for both the foundation and the aquarium.

The differences cropped up in the last few months as the foundation, originally based in San Francisco, moved its headquarters to Newport and began taking a more prominent role in Keiko’s care and rehabilitation. The nonprofit foundation owns Keiko, orchestrated his 1996 transfer from a substandard amusement park pool in Mexico City, and raised more than $7 million for his salt water tank at the aquarium.

When he first arrived, aquarium employees directed Keiko’s daily routine largely aimed at helping him overcome health problems and put on muscle. But in June, Hughes began putting together a staff that would take over full responsibility for Keiko’s handling and care.

Among those hired by the foundation were two aquarium employees - one of them Harvey - who were working with Keiko. The idea, Harvey said, was to put together a team that could follow Keiko to the North Atlantic when the time came for the move.

The change in authority has had some obvious rough spots.

For instance, Hughes said aquarium director Phyllis Bel - has called periodically, noting that Keiko has sometimes been out of sight from public viewing windows for extended periods, thereby disappointing aquarium visitors. Hughes responded that the foundation’s goal was to prepare Keiko for the wild, not ensure that the public gets a good show.

“Trying to make him swim by those windows every 15 minutes to a half-hour to please the public often-times run contrary to what we’re trying to do here,” she said.