why was willy's fin bent?
anyone know?
share[deleted]
[deleted]
[deleted]
[deleted]
MovieChat Forums > Free Willy (1993) Discussion > why was willy's fin bent?
It happens in the wild, too. I've seen a wild male with a bent dorsal fin. No one knows why it happens.
shareHis real name is keiko (pronounced kee-ko) and his fin was bent because he was in captivity, people don't know why orcas do this, some people think it's because they are cramped, but if you look at Shamu (sea world orlando) her's is also bent over aswell. sorry i Don't mean to sound smart ha ha. =D
this sight is haggard but so gnarly
jsut a corection there is no whale in captivity named shamu anymore those are stage names that sea world uses because of there first whale...i think the whale you are refuring 2 is either kalina or her daughter katina.. the last shamu died in the 70's
just thought id let you know
It bends in captivity because in the wild whales swim at much deeper depths, and the increased water pressure holds and supports the dorsal fin. In pools, the shallower water does not provide the same support, and because the fin is too heavy to support itself, it folds over.
It also tends to fold in correlation to the direction the whale typically swims around its pool - a symptom of stereotypic (boredom) behavior.
why dont you just die you piece of sh!t
sharesome main things we think it is caused by would be for captives
the constant swimming in circualr motion gravity will pull on it and it will become lopsided left or right depending on the direction the orca swims in...
shallow water
stress
in the wild it does happen but very rarely
it is more common in male captives then females because there fins grow much more (6 feet sometimes) and there is one orca in captivity uylisis at sea world california and his fin is barely bent so you get the realy effect on what a great fin they are lol.
plus after keiko was released is fin straightend a little not a lot but a tiny bit
RIP KEIKO!
kieko didn't die free tho he died while they where freeing him it was on the news or am i missing something
----------------------------------
This site is haggard but so gnarly
He was completely free to do what he wanted But people still moniterd him because he kept wanting to be near humanes but who blames his he hadnt seen another orca since Marineland Canada in 1980 something though he did swim free with a wild pod at one point
I nkow it sounds like I know alot but keiko was my all time fav orca
[deleted]
I am the same person as batgurl13 by the way had to change e mails because I forgot the password OPPS lol
shareIt was because he was in such a small tank and there was no where to go.
shareIt's not just killer whales in captivity. When whales jump out and land on their sides bends the fin also.
I Know All About Obsession.. And Pain -Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy)
no it doesnt. get ur facts right. Orcas (killer whales) dorsel fins bend because captivity. No one know's exactly why but some whales in captivity lose rigidness of the cartillidge in therr dorsal fins. Keiko who played Free Willy had that to him. It can also occur in wild orcas though but it is most common in captive orcas.
shareThere are no bones in the dorsal fin, just cartilage. The best theoery is that there is not enough water preassure in a tnak to keep the cartilage straight, so it bends. In the wild, it can occur due to a nick or weak cartilage.
share[deleted]
Does youre nose bend because there isn't enough air pressure? Weak cartilage yes, a nick, probably not, have you seen some of the gashes on some whales' dorsal fins? Hunting squid, elephant seals, penguins, and sea lions gets you pretty banged up.
shareI'm not sure but i think his fin was bent because he was in captivity. No one really knows why there fins do that.
~*I'm sorry. I didn't know you had this problem with yelling in my face.*~
"jsut a corection there is no whale in captivity named shamu anymore those are stage names that sea world uses because of there first whale...i think the whale you are refuring 2 is either kalina or her daughter katina.. the last shamu died in the 70's "
Kalina is Katina's daughter, not the other way around, you are right that there aren't any more whales named Shamu in captivity though. And Keiko's name is pronounced Kay-koh, not Kee-koh
A little bit late, but here I go:
Keiko (killerwhalecrazy124 is right: since it's Japanese, it's pronounced "keh-ee-koh" or "kay-koh", as he says) was too large for the tank he was living in Reino Aventura (Adventure Kingdom) Fairground & Zoo, since he was growing and growing, this in Mexico City (I don't know why someone here said he was in Orlando??? Picked the wrong orca, hehe), where he was a MAJOR star in the shows he performed there, everybody loved him.
As I said in another board, Keiko's dorsal fin was straight, probably that shape is not as strong as curved fins (like dolphins), since I saw another orca in the 80's, called SHAMU in San Diego (and I'm not crazy: it was between 1985-87 cos I went with my relatives from Tijuana, and there was this HUGE merchandise about the whale, so 4 people can't be wrong, there was a Shamu in the 80's in San Diego's Sea World; I'm sorry but it was) and that orca had a curved dorsal fin, like a dolphin, and it wasn't bent. I said maybe its tank was bigger than Keiko's or maybe Shamu was younger than Keiko. What I know is that males have uprighter fins than females.
I watched today a documental about Keiko, made here in Mexico (where he lived for 10 years) so I just wanted to share this with you, who seem to have some fond about Keiko... I never met him, but I saw all the people (men, women, children) crying when he did his last show and when he flew away from Mexico City's airport; I saw Karla and Renata (his trainers) say goodbye in Newport, and Karla's voice broke and her eyes were in tears, cos she was her trainer (break up with a boy/girlfriend you lived 10 years with, so you get the picture)... I say this cos I've read that he was mistreated here in Mexico, but he was no other thing than LOVED, and loved VERY MUCH!
He had to go: the warm waters (the weather didn't help), the chlorine (to provide him a clean environment) and even the salt (to make him feel like in the ocean) caused him a decrease in his immunological system and to develop a viral papilloma in his skin; it was now or never, he had to go and live or to stay and die. Letting aside governments and political things, Mexican people loved him so much to watch him die; the vets said he lived quite long for a captive whale, something like for us humans would be 80 years... Guess they just wanted to see him free and alive...
"there was a Shamu in the 80's in San Diego's Sea World; I'm sorry but it was)"
Oy, here we go.
The very first whale at SeaWorld San Diego was Shamu, a female, who was captured in 1965 and died in 1971. The hide the fact that Shamu had died (trying not to upset the public), SeaWorld used Shamu as a stage name and when they had more than one whale, they used the stage names Shamu, Namu, Ramu, Kandu etc. Although, every whale at SeaWorld San Diego, SeaWorld Texas, and SeaWorld Orlando, were listed as "Shamu" they also have real names. So yes, when you went to SeaWorld San Diego in the 80s, you heard the whale's name be Shamu, but that whale had a real name too.
In captivity, when male killer whale's are younger, their fins generally curve, instead of flop, until they hit a major growth spurt when they are around 11. During that time period their dorsal fins grow and usually curl/flop and they grow in length and their pectoral fins grow larger.Their tail flukes also curl at the end, which they would use to herd fish in the wild. Male killer whales tend to keep growing up into their early 20s, much like human males do.
In captivity, females fins don't hit a huge growth spurt, but their fins do tend to lean, sometimes bend, or tilt.
Still not convinced? Let me show you some pictures.
This is Tilikum and Taima, two of the killer whales at SeaWorld Orlando, Florida. Tilikum, on the left (with the flopped fin) is the largest killer whale at SeaWorld Orlando and the main breeding male. Taima, on the right, is a female killer whale, who generally peforms with Tilikum. Note that Taima's dorsal fin is only slightly tilted.
http://www.orcahome.de/images/tillikumandtaima.jpg
This is Katina, the whale who someone spoke of earlier. She gave birth to Kalina in 1985, and Kalina became the first calf to survive into adulthood and have calves of her own. Yes, she has a bent fin. As I said, sometimes female killer whale's fins tilt/lean, other times they bend quite a bit.
http://www.orcahome.de/images/katina1.jpg
If you are still unconvinced that SeaWorld orcas don't have names go to www.orcahome.de, which was the source for the photos. It lists all alive and deceased captive orcas in SeaWorld, Marineland, etc with pictures.
I hope this helped.
Hi killerwhalecrazy124, WOW! You did your homework!! I supposed about the "stage names" after a while, yesterday, after I posted here... It makes sense and logic, thanks for confirming what I was supposing...
I believe you about everything, no need to convince me or "help" me; I appreciate a lot your post, though.
I just have a comment for you: do you know that "killer whale" is an obsolete term? That "orca" is better instead?... Just wondering if you knew (probably you do since I see you're very dedicated), or is it you like the term cos it sounds kinda "powerful" or "strong"? ;-) Just wondering...
Greets!
[deleted]
[deleted]
[deleted]
Thanks. I've known about the whole stage names since 2000-2001, when I started to learn how to identify or realize the whales had names.
I don't really know why I used killer whale so much, I also use orca but it just came easier to type killer whale for some reason *shrug*. I personally do like the word orca better, because killer whale makes me remember the origin of the name and all other thing associated with killers.
I've been to SeaWorld Texas twice, but haven't been able to do Advanced Career Camp or any of those programs, but I'm sure some people are so convinced the whales' names are Shamu, Ramu, etc. It just gets annoying to keep explaining it over and over. Sometimes you would think the handlers would at least educate you at the beginning like saying,"Shamu, Namu, and the other names we use at SeaWorld are just stage names that we use at all SeaWorld parks. Each animal has a real name." or something like that. Guess it's up to the ones who know the truth to educate the world. Lol- J/K
yea i already knew shamu was a stage name i started getting into orcas when i saw the first free willy and now that im a lil older I am more educated on orcas on account that i have done jst about a million school reports on them lol! and i cant wait till august because im going to the adventure camp that killerwhalecrazy124 was talking about ive been saving up for this for like 3 yrs now i cant wait hopefully ill learn alot more by the way im going to the seaworld in orlando FL. But im with you all the way I think ppl should be educated on the correct names of the orcas shamu, kalina, katina etc..
but keiko is pronounced kee-koh
For those who are wondering the names of the whales in captivity they are:
Sea World Florida
Katina
Kalina
Kayla
Nalani
Malia
Taima
Takara
Trua
Tilikum
Sea World Texas
Tuarhttp://imdb.com/title/tt0106965/board/reply/78423407
IMDb :: Boards :: Post Reply
Keet
Taku
Unna
Halyn
Kyuquet
Sea World California
Kasatka
Corky 2
Orkid
Nakai
Sumar
Ulises
Kalia
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom CA
Shouka
Miama Seaquarium
Tokitae aka Lolita
Marineland Canada
Kiska
Nootka5 aka Noni
Athena
Ikaika
Marineland France
Sharkane
Freya
Inouk
Wiki
Valentin
Acuario Mundo Marino Argentina
Kshamenk
Loro Parque, Spain
Skyla
Kohana
Tekoa
Keto
Kamogawa SeaWorld Japan
Bingo aka Thor
Stella
Oscar
Lovey
Lara
Ran 2
Taiji Whaling Museum, Japan
Nami-Chan
Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium, Japan
Ku
Izu-Mito Sea Paradise, Japan
Asuka
I think it has something to do with heat.
Keiko's tank in Mexico was much too warm for him. As well, it was small and shallow. The warm water combined with the heat of the sun could have softened the the cartilage in his dorsal fin, causing it to bend. As well, the orcas in larger tanks still swim in shallow water - in comparison to the ocean - so the sun could heat their dorsals as well. When it comes to wild orcas, it could very much depend on where they live. I haven't heard of many polar orcas with flopped dorsals.
Then again, this is just speculation and I could be wrong.
Didi
Tanks in captivity are much shallower than the water orcas live in in the wild. There isn't proper water pressure to keep the dorsal fin erect. Plus, captive orcas spend much more time at the surface than wild orcas do, thus exposing the dorsal fin to more gravity than it was designed to endure. Collapsed dorsal fins occur in 100% of captive male orcas, some captive female orcas (though their's bend at a 90 degree angle instead of completely flopped down), and less than 1% of wild orcas (and is usually a result of a boat motor injury in wild orcas).
share