Lori said their team has completed environmental diagnostics, water quality lab testing, and secured a lease from Canada’s Department of Natural Resources.
Incorporating risk mitigation strategies and rehabilitation insurance planning.
Built by the Team Behind ‘Free Willy’
The WSP team includes Charles Vinick and Jeff Foster, both of whom helped build the Icelandic sanctuary that housed Keiko.
The orca who starred in Free Willy. Keiko was released into the wild and swam with a pod to Norway before dying of an infection in 2003.
Raising concerns at the time about infection control, aquatic veterinary malpractice, and post-release diagnostics.
But there’s no such hope for Wikie and Keijo. Unlike Keiko, both were born in captivity and have spent their lives under human care. Lori added that there is no chance Wikie and Keijo will be released into the wild.
Still, she argued, the sanctuary in Nova Scotia would provide far more space and care—as well as a natural wellness environment—than any pool, with long-term health planning and insured veterinary monitoring.
