The true story behind the whale made famous by Free Willy (2002) | The Fifth Estate

March 28, 2025 54192 Views

Keiko’s return to the wild was ripped from a Hollywood script — literally. How the five-tonne star of 1993’s Free Willy made a similar journey back to open waters after millions of dollars were sunk into helping get back the whale’s killer instincts. Keiko died of pneumonia in December 2003, and remains the only orca to have been reintroduced into the wild.

Archival Material
Associated Press Television News
RUV TV

Original broadcast date: Jan. 30, 2002

#Wildlife
#FreeWilly
#Documentary
#Rescue

Subscribe for more videos from The Fifth Estate: http://bit.ly/25W8cpn

Connect with The Fifth Estate online:
Website : http://bit.ly/1d0FBxq
Instagram : http://bit.ly/25W8SLs

About The Fifth Estate: For more than five decades, The Fifth Estate has been Canada’s premier investigative documentary program. Hosts Mark Kelley, Steven D’Souza and Ioanna Roumeliotis continue a tradition of provocative and fearless journalism. The Fifth Estate brings in-depth investigations that matter to Canadians — delivering a dazzling parade of political leaders, controversial characters and ordinary people whose lives were touched by triumph or tragedy.

The Fifth Estate airs Fridays at 9pm on CBC-TV and steams on CBC GEM.

Categories
News
Leave a comment