Wednesday • April 1, 1998
JjJJk The Battalion
Aggiep ife
III llli 'mm m â– 
Free Willy’ tide character too tame to be freed publisher'! booVilore
NEWPORT, Ore. (AP) — The romantic notion of
[Free Willy” star Keiko swimming back to the sea just
ike in the movies has run up against a hard reality: The
filler whale doesn’t have much of a killer inst inct .
Keiko is so lousy at catching fish that even some of
lis most optimistic handlers acknowledge that the
diale who has lived nearly his entire life in a pool may
lever be able to survive in the wild.
He is getting lessons from humans in catching fish,
md in the first peek to be given to a reporter, Keiko man-
jiged to catch a couple, with a trainer using a dog whis-
[le, hand signals and clapping to point him to his prey.
But for the most part, the black-and-white beast
matched meal after meal flutter by.
‘‘He may never reach the wild. This may not suc
ceed,” said Nolan Harvey, curator of marine mammals
pf the Free Willy Keiko Foundation.
Regardless of whether his hunting abilities improve,
le foundation still plans to take Keiko later this year to
[in enclosed bay pen in the North Atlantic where he
rould continue to be fed.
Two years ago, schoolchildren inspired by the movie
[Free Willy" helped raise money to move the ailing killer
diale from a cramped Mexico City aquarium to a spa
cious pool here at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in hopes
of getting him heal dry enough for a return to the open sea.
His health did indeed improve, helped along with daily
hand feedings of300 pounds of restaurant-quality fresh fish.
To get him ready for the wild, however, the hand
feeding stopped abruptly a couple of months ago and
trainers began dropping dead fish into the tank, then
stunned fish that fluttered in the water. The sessions
with healthy live fish began several weeks ago.
In Monday’s training, Harvey screamed, ‘‘Go get that
fish! Go get it!” after releasing cod and salmon into the
mammal’s path.
When Keiko finally grabbed a live fish in his jaws,
then swallowed it whole, trainer Tracy Karmuza, clad in
a wet suit, jumped into the tank next to Keiko and
yelled, “Good boy!”
The famous whale ate a second fish minutes later
but then seemed to lose interest, letting at least three
other live fish swim by unharmed.
Critics say Keiko’s lack of hunting ability isn’t surprising
because the whale has spent 18 of his 20 years in captivity
“I don’t think it’s fair and humane to the animal to
tiy this operation just to make a few people happy,” said
Brad Andrews, vice president of zoological operations
at Sea World in Orlando, Fla. Sea World’s theme parks
around the country have 19 killer whales.
Andrews said his team of marine biologists has re
habilitated and released whales, usually ones that
have been found beached or have other problems,
such as malnutrition.
“But those animals are with us a very short time and
not long enough to be imprinted by humans,” he said.
“Keiko has been imprinted a long time.”
Though disappointed by the session, Keiko’s train
ers said it’s still remarkable that a captive whale that’s
been fed dead fish practically its entire life now is able
to catch and eat at least some live fish.
They said on better days, Keiko catches up to 15 live
fish, or about half his daily diet.
“To my knowledge, no other project has attempted
to teach an adult killer whale how to hunt,” said Diane
Hammond, spokeswoman for the foundation. “We’re
breaking new ground here every day.”
She said the foundation believes Keiko would still be
much happier in an ocean pen, even if he had to spend
the rest of his days there.
“He will remain under our care as long as he needs
it,” she said. “If that means forever, so be it.”
CINCINNATI (AP)—Twenty-one years after the city of Cincin
nati prosecuted Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flyntfor ob
scenity, history may be repeating itself.
A grand jury is looking into Flynt’s bookstore, which sells
adult videos, magazines and sex toys. Police raided the store
on Friday.
City law limits adult businesses to industrial areas and re
quires a license for a business carrying a significant or sub
stantial amount of sexually explicit merchandise. The law does
not define substantial.
Flynt has said that 30 percent to 40 percent of the store’s
sales have been of adult materials. He has not applied fora li
cense for the business. It is not in an industrial area.
Jimmy Flynt, Flynt’s brother and the store manager, was
subpoenaed along with five employees and ordered to ap
pear Wednesday before the grand jury. Larry Flynt was not
subpoenaed.
Prosecutors would not say what the grand jury is investi
gating, but Larry Flynt’s lawyer, H. Louis Sirkin, said it could be
pursuing an obscenity prosecution.
Flynt has dared Cincinnati authorities to prosecute him. He
distributed free copies of Hustler on a downtown square last
May, then opened his store in October.
Rynt was convicted in 1977, but his conviction was over
turned and he was never retried.
Roommate
Horror Stories:
o Your roommate flunked out and left you paying his share of the rent
o A city inspector evicted your roommate due to an unsafe level of personal
hygiene, which left you paying her part of the rent
o Your roommate spent all of his money on beer instead of rent; now you're
paying his portion of the rent.
o A cult leader convinced your roommate to become aTexas Longhorn,
o She transferred and left you paying her share of the rent.
Get A Life!
INDIVIDUAL LEASES WITH NO FINANCIAL ROOMMATE RESPONSIBILITY
COLLEGIATE RESIDENCES
117 Holleman Drive West Tel.: (409) 696-5711
College Station,Texas 77840 Fax: (409) 696-5661
Office Hours
Mon-Sat 10-6
Sunday 12-6
iki
PL
Check Us Out on the World Wide Web:
www.dmcmgmt.conn
An S.U.H,“
Community
Developed by
Dinerstein Companies
Need birth control?
Think you have an infection?
Time for your Pap smear?
No time? No insurance
and little money?
PLAN ON US.
Professional. Confidential.
Affordable.
4001 E. 29th, Suite 103
Bryan
Planned Parenthood®
409/846-1744
Medicaid
SOME PEOPLE CALL YOUR
NEED FOR STIMULATION
OVER THE TOP.
WE CALL IT YOUR
TICKET TO THE TOE
Imagine developing all your talents - while doing the same for a multi
billion dollar business. Or having the autonomy to use your head to
make top-level decisions, while impacting bottom-line profitability.
Where do you go to have it all? Enterprise Rent-A-Car has entry-level
management opportunities that give you the freedom to make critical
decisions. Join us and have hands-on involvement in every aspect of
business management - from sales and marketing to customer service
and administration. This growth opportunity offers a competitive
salary and benefits package. A college degree is preferred.
Use Your Head. Join Enterprise.
Come to our Information Session!
Tuesday, February 10th from 7:00pm - 8:30pm
At the College Station Hilton Hotel
Dress is casual
Open to all students
Or call toll-free: 1-888-WWW-ERAC
Visit our Web site at: www.erac.com
| Enterprise
rent-a-car
We are an equal opportunity employer.