Killing Keiko by Mark A. Simmons

there’s no such thing as “they didn’t hear it.” I responded
     to Thad’s question, “That’s a surefire way to get your ass chewed.” I had passed the
     test. Continuing to provide direction when that direction is being purposely ignored
     is one of the fastest ways to ignite frustration and aggression in any animal (or
     person), especially a killer whale.
    Yet again, this was another sloppy area in Keiko’s interactions with his trainers.
     They would frequently blow their whistle, in effect, telling Keiko, “Great, that’s
     it … now, come back and I’ve got a great reward for you.” Often, when Keiko would
     not respond to the bridge, they would promptly bridge again, insisting that his hearing
     was bad. Highly unlikely; it was more probable that this “two orthree bridge requirement” was the result of Keiko training (or ignoring) his trainers.
     Any other whale might well launch itself bodily out of the water, gaping mouth twisting
     to the side as if to grab the unsuspecting offender or at the least knocking them
     aside in a sweep of its head. Having witnessed this exact response to repeated bridging
     before, I can submit with confidence that once is enough to learn the lesson. I will
     never underestimate just how remarkably swift a large killer whale can be when driven
     to the point of frustration. If Keiko hadn’t been so satiated with food, or been so
     numbed by this practice throughout his learning history, he might have reacted to
     these situations like a normal male killer whale and left the trainer with knocking
     knees for an hour or two.
    These examples of conflicting signals, along with many others, were circumstances
     that should have totally pissed him off, yet the lack of aggression or even precursors
     to aggressive behavior from Keiko revealed another discomforting trait of this whale
     charged with surviving the wild: it was as if he had been “dumbed down” or dulled
     to the point of complete apathy.
    In large part, the driving force behind Keiko’s lethargy was not only poor training,
     it was compounded by diet. Because Dr. Cornell had mandated that a top priority for
     Keiko’s release was to fatten him up, Keiko was completely satiated with food. Keiko
     simply didn’t care whether food was offered or not. The only motivation to interact
     with his trainers was the stimulation they provided, and the break it offered him
     from an otherwise monotonous day, void of social contact with other whales, stimulating
     mental challenges or any other form of variability aside from changes in weather or
     current. Occasionally, when Keiko would not even care to come over, the staff would
     literally throw herring at him to make sure he got all his food for the day. Often,
     without moving, Keiko would just watch the herring sink to the bottom.
    Imagine being so satiated after a Thanksgiving dinner that a nap is all that holds
     interest. Friends call and want to toss the Frisbee. Boredom begs for agreement, but
     motivation is stifled by an overbearing impulse to lie motionless, driftingin and out of consciousness. This was Keiko. This was the whale destined for release
     to a supremely unforgiving environment.
    His fattened and lethargic condition had become a smoke screen that clouded any true
     evaluation of the animal. First, we would need to get Keiko on a workout regimen.
     We needed to get him moving and burning more calories, but not necessarily dropping
     his food intake in the process. Doing both at the same time might trigger the opposite
     result for which we were aiming. A drop in fuel at the same time we turned up his
     calorie burn could push his body to store more reserves, more fat. Robin and I couldn’t
     contain our need to discuss the issues and eventually allowed ourselves to share our
     observations openly in front of and with the staff. During the following weeks and
     months, we would find ourselves constantly educating the staff on the basics of