Free Willy says no to the call of the wild

For months the whale has been frustrating the team of keepers trying to reintroduce him to the wild by showing a stubborn reluctance to leave.

Each time they have coaxed him towards groups of wild whales off Iceland, he has nervously approached them, swum briefly alongside but soon hurried back to his handlers At the start of the month, however, Keiko suddenly began to make dramatic progress. Leaving his keepers' boats bobbing in his wake, he swam off on his own initiative to join a group of wild whales. Since then he has spent most of his days swimming free with them, at times up to 35 miles from the nearest human.

But being fully accepted into a tight-knit group of whales remains a big step and after lengthy spells swimming free, Keiko still returns to his human friends. He is, they say, like "a shy person in a room full of strangers."

Now time is running out. Each year around this time of year the wild killer whales, or orcas, migrate from southern Icelandic waters, following the herring to their autumn feeding gounds. If Keiko leaves with them he will finally be free. But if the orcas leave without him, he faces another year in captivity and an uncertain future.

"Realistically, every day that goes by makes that window of opportunity close a little more," said Charles Vinick, vice-president of Ocean Futures, the charity overseeing Keiko's return to the wild. "Part of the test is whether Keiko decides to go with them and, equally, whether the wild whales accept Keiko."

Keiko was captured in Icelandic waters in 1978 or 1979 and shipped between aquariums in Iceland, Canada and Mexico. In 1993 he got his big break when his Mexican owners volunteered him for Free Willy, the story of a boy liberating an orca from an unscrupulous aquarium owner.

Soon afterwards word spread that, like Willy, Keiko was suffering, alone and ill in a small pool and a huge international campaign began to free him. In 1998 he was flown to Klettsvik Bay, in the Vestmannaeyjar islands off the south of Iceland, and reintroduced to the waters where he was born.

While Willy simply jumped over a sea wall to be welcomed like a prodigal son by his family, getting Keiko to leave humans has been an uphill struggle. In his Icelandic bay, netted off from the open sea, Keiko seemed more intent on showing off to his keepers than returning to the obscurity of the open sea.

They were forced to introduce a policy of tough love - banning cameras and telling people not to look him in the eye in case he started doing tricks. Expert opinion is divided on whether Keiko will be accepted by the wild pod. Because he is originally from Icelandic waters, Keiko should "speak" the same dialect of whistles, grunts and clicks as the wild orcas, but having spent nearly all his life alone he will know nothing of their etiquette.

Keiko has learnt to catch some of his food, but not in large quantities, and his keepers hope other whales will teach him how to hunt properly.

If he fails to leave in the coming days, another attempt will be made next May. But a salmon farm being built near the bay may affect water quality, forcing Keiko to move and begin again from scratch.

More importantly he is reaching his twilight years. At 25 he has already outlived the average age for captive whales and is nearing the 30-year life expectancy of male wild orcas. Females live to 50 on average. "He is on borrowed time already," said Erich Hoyt, senior research associate with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

Last week storms forced Keiko to remain alone in the bay while the wild orcas began to drift away. Only 10 wild whales have been spotted in the past week, compared with 50 earlier this month.

-The Sunday Times (London)

Victoria still not No:1

Victoria Beckham was a featured vocalist on the track 'Out Of My Mind' by the True Steppers & Dane Bowers back in August last year. It was a very poor track - much hyped but still only managed to peak at the No: 2 position. Victoria waited all this while and has still has not been able to become the big solo star she was expected to be. 

Kylie Minogue raced ahead of her competitors this week to take pole position on the UK singles chart with her new release 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head'. At 32, the Australian singer underlined the fact she is not just yesterday's star but very much one who can still attract a large following despite the presence of more contemporary and younger stars and a younger audience. 

With a promotion to her current hit ' Can't Get You Out Of My Head' activated a few weeks, the question was whether the veteran would be able to muster support within the market. Well she proved it this week leaving behind the likes of Victoria Beckham, and Shaggy to smash her way to the top of the chart with a very radio friendly single. It's Kylie's first No:1 since 'Spinning Around' back in June last year. 

2000 was a very successful year for Kylie. Her management and label are expecting to repeat that success into the next year with her forthcoming album. 

The horrible events in the US a fortnight ago had its effects across the Atlantic. Sales were not very encouraging for the industry though it did herald a new No: 1 song 'Hey Baby' by DJ Otzi. The DJ was a lucky enough to be able to score a debut chart topping song. It may of course be helpful when the artiste's next release comes along. The mood of the market to some extent was similar to the time of the tragic death of Diana, the Princess of Wales in 1997. 

The year has been very kind to Shaggy. Hot on the heels of back to back No: 1 hits, he strikes at the UK chart with another track called 'Luv Me Luv Me'. It's a good gamble for the Jamaican- born US star even though the single lacks the strong dependence of another song. 'Luv Me Luv Me', checked into the chart at No: 5 only a short striking distance from the No: 1 position. Shaggy receives full credit for the track unlike 'Angel' which featured Rikrok and 'It Wasn't Me' which featured Rayvon. 

Children voted for 15 awards from music, sport and television which was for the Disney Channel Kids Awards held at the London Arena on Saturday September 22. Over a million kids voted for their favourite stars. In the music category - Atomic Kitten beat Britney Spears, Destiny's Child and Madonna to win Best Female Group/Artiste. The group Hear' Say won the Best New Chart Shakers Award. But the act that walked away with the most accolades was the Irish group Westlife - taking home Best Male Group/Artiste and Band of the Year awards. 

In the aftermath of attacks in New York and Washington DC, singer songwriter Stevie Wonder has made an appeal for world peace it was disclosed on Monday September 24. Meanwhile Backstreet Boys member Kevin Richardson apologised for the ill advised comments he made after the attacks in the US. 

In another development Sir Paul McCartney announced on Monday September 24 that he would perform in New York shortly to raise funds for the heroic firefighters after the attack on the World Trade Center. 

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