Keiko has a new tank in Oregon and a dream team of experts that gets him into shape. But soon they start fighting over what a realistic future looks like for this golden retriever of an orca. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts.To find out about new shows from Serial Productions, and get a look behind the scenes, sign up for our newsletter at nytimes.com/serialnewsletter.Have a story pitch, a tip, or feedback on our shows? Email us at [email protected]
What happened on the day Keiko arrived in Oregon?
He was so malleable, so eager to please, the staff even gave him nicknames to reflect that. McFly, the cowering, bullied father in Back to the Future, or The Dude, the militantly laid-back protagonist of The Big Lebowski. Trainer Mark Trim, who had worked with Killer Whales for more than a decade, had never seen anything like it.
He was just the most easygoing, just laid back, mellow. I used to just shake my head and kind of laugh to myself. And I'm like, I just can't believe what a cool critter he was. I mean, everybody that worked with him called him the one in a million whale.
Because no matter how far my career stretches before I disappear and how long I work with marine mammals, there will never be another whale like that.
And at the end of his long, strenuous days of training, Keiko would unwind by watching television, which is, I mean, totally relatable. Celebrity whales, they're just like us.
In Keiko's case, TV was therapeutic, prescribed by one of his veterinarians to keep Keiko stimulated after hours, on those nights when no one was around to dive with him or when he could no longer amuse himself by spy hopping out of the water to scare the security guards, which actually used to happen, by the way. Keiko's taste in TV was pretty middle of the road.
Black and white Andy Griffith reruns, pro wrestling and action movies like Independence Day. But as far as we know, not Free Willy. Because of their celebrity resident, the small town of Newport, Oregon was suddenly a tourist destination, with people coming from all over the country and the world to see Keiko. And he had quite an effect on his visitors.
One of the trainers told us Keiko caused intelligent adults to dissolve into a kind of baby talk version of themselves. You can hear what he does to this CNN reporter, who's totally fangirling as she's about to record a segment by his viewing window.
30 seconds, Jim. He's coming over. Yes. Oh, my God. Look at this.
Look at this.
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