Halsa, Norway
Keiko, the killer whale that starred in the hit film Free Willy, died last week of acute pneumonia. He was 27. “Initially, he seemed to have a cold,” said Margrethe Saether, the mayor of Halsa, Norway, where the orca beached himself. Keiko never took to the open sea after his release into the wild in 2002. Instead, he spent most of his time hanging around Scandinavian port cities, where humans would feed and fuss over him. He was buried in a 30-foot-long, 15-foot-deep grave.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Tom Phillips: the manhunt for forest fugitive and his abducted childrenIn the Spotlight Three children recovered safely after four-year manhunt ends in police shootout
-
Codeword: September 9, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Sudoku medium: September 9, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
