In a real life Free Willy situation, one man is working to save 2 orcas from captivity. Wikie and Keijo are 2 remaining captive orcas in France but they are set to move soon. One man, Dave Phillips, is dedicated to making sure they are moved to the best place.
Real Life Free Willy
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Dave Phillips is a director of the International Marine Mammal Project at Earth Island Institute. He is well known for his part in freeing the whale actor from Free Willy. However his passion for saving whales did not end there. Now, he is working to save 2 other orcas from captivity.
Keiko, the orca from the film, was taken from the wild as a young whale. Therefore, he spent the majority of his life in captivity rather than in the open ocean. Once fans learned this fact they were outraged. From there, they pushed Warner Brothers to release the killer whale.
While it took awhile, the results were positive and Keiko was freed. Now, Keiko's journey is being covered in "The Good Whale", a 2024 podcast from "Serial" and The New York Times.
Man Plans To Save 2 Orcas From Captivity
Dave is hoping that re-sharing Keiko's story will help ignite that fire in people again. Then, he can use that to help him save the 2 orcas in captivity, creating yet another real-life Free Willy experience. Wikie and Keijo are a mother and son pair that have spent their entire lives in captivity.
PEOPLE Magazine shares that they currently reside at Marineland Antibes in the French Rivera and "are the only captive orcas in France." Marineland Antibes recently closed due to legislation banning the use of dolphins and whales in marine zoo shows, but the whales are still currently there.
Although this new legislation is good news, it leaves the 2 orcas in limbo. What will their future hold? We know Dave is hoping it will be a future just the like Free Willy whale Keiko. Initially, it didn't seem like good news. Marineland wanted to sell the whales to another marine park, but they received considerable pushback from the public.
While they are still considering sending them to a marine park, they are also listening to the demands of the public. Which is to save the 2 orcas from captivity and send them to a sea sanctuary. While some hope for these orcas to swim freely in the ocean, it is not a realistic option for them. Due to the fact that they were both born in captivity, "neither is a good candidate for release into the wild."
