
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, October 18, 1993                   TAG: 9310180021
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: TAMPA, FLA.                                LENGTH: Short

KIDS POOL DOLLARS TO FREE REAL WILLY

Call them Ishmaels. Only this time, instead of the tale of "Moby Dick," they're trying to tell the world about Keiko, a captive killer whale who starred in the summer box office hit "Free Willy."

These youngsters from Tampa's Northwest Elementary School are reaching out to children everywhere through crayons and computers, asking for $1 of their allowance for a whale-sized dream - to free the real Willy. The mission of the 5- to 10-year-old pupils, who hope to raise $1 million, leaves scientists divided over whether such whales can be returned to the wild after captivity. It's never been done.

Some marine experts hope to find Keiko's family, then let the whales talk to each other by satellite and hydrophones. Conservationists say if Keiko can be rehabilitated and his pod identified, the phone hookup could lead to his release back into the North Atlantic.

Nonsense, say scientists associated with marine parks that have captive orcas; it's untried, and chances are unlikely that a killer whale could successfully be returned to the ocean after 12 years in captivity.

Brad Andrews, zoologist at Sea World in Orlando, Fla., doubts a whale who's used to being in a tank and being fed since age 2 can be released. "It would do him a terrible injustice."

by CNB