If you’re a fan of Keiko, the orca who starred in the first “Free Willy” movie, get to the Oregon Coast Aquarium this spring or summer to see him.
It could be your last chance for a close-to-home viewing because, if all goes according to plan, the 9,700-pound killer whale will be airlifted this fall to the ocean coast of Ireland or Iceland, a first step in his eventual return to the wild. His new home will be a netted pen in a north Atlantic bay in one of those countries, depending on how negotiations with governments go.
“Our plan is to move him probably in September or early October,” said Diane Hammond, a spokeswoman for the Free Willy Keiko Foundation, which owns the orca.
Keiko was moved to a two-million-gallon tank at the aquarium about two years ago after starring in “Free Willy,” a movie about a captive orca named Willy and a boy who tries to set him loose.
After the film made him famous, Keiko was brought by the foundation to the Oregon Coast Aquarium from a Mexico city amusement park where he was ailing in a cramped pool. In his two years at the Oregon Coast Aquarium he has been a major tourist attraction while being rehabilitated and prepared for eventual release into his native north Atlantic waters.
“Keiko will be relocated but remain under human care for the foreseeable future, fed and cared for medically by humans. The biggest change (when he’s taken to Iceland or Ireland) is he’ll be in a natural marine environment for the first time in 18 years and be linked to his universe instead of a concrete pool,” Hammond said.
When Keiko is airlifted out (in a very big tank in a cargo plane) he will leave a large gap at the aquarium — he caused attendance to double in his first year there and thrilled kids who had seen the “Free Willy” movie.
But the aquarium has plenty of other attractions for visitors besides Keiko.
The aquarium, which opened six years ago, is a long, low building set on the edge of a bay at the south end of Newport, Ore. It has a half-dozen display galleries, a cafe and well-stocked gift shop.
One of its most popular exhibits, at least for kids, is the “touch tank.” It’s filled with tidepool creatures — starfish, anenomes and more — that can be felt and stroked. Nearby, jellyfish shimmer in a lighted tank, their translucent bodies undulating in the current.
The aquarium has special exhibits throughout the year. Two that opened in late March are Frogs: Clues to Survival and What About Whales?
The frog exhibit features dozen of species of frogs and their friends — salamanders, newts and turtles.
One of the most unusual species is the tomato frog, said aquarium spokesman William La Marche. It’s bright red and round (hence its name) and endangered in its native Madagascar because of habitat destruction and over-collecting for the pet trade.
The whales exhibit has interactive displays that let visitors learn as they play. Measure whale sounds and your own — as you try to sing like a whale — on an oscilloscope. Test your lung capacity against a whale’s by blowing into a spirometer, then holding your breath and seeing the differences between you and the whale. (Hint: The whale wins.)
There also are exhibits on gray whales, which pass the Oregon coast (and Washington’s) on their migration north from Mexico to Alaska in March and April. On the aquarium’s grounds, paths wander along the shoreline and through outdoor exhibits, some of the aquarium’s best. They consist of large tanks clad with a rocklike exterior that mimics the rocky formations on Oregon beaches and house otters, seals and other marine creatures. There is even a giant octopus lurking in a tank’s dark crevice.
And, of course, there’s Keiko in his own outside tank. He can be seen, a sleek black-and-white swimming machine, through below-surface windows in the side of the tank (only staff go on the walkway at the top, and Keiko doesn’t perform any show tricks, unlike marine-park orcas).
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His distinctively droopy dorsal fin falls to one side. A droopy fin is found on some captive orcas, including Keiko, who have spent much time on the surface of a tank where there is no water pressure to support the long fin (which has no bone, only connective tissue, inside).
But if you don’t get to the aquarium to see Keiko this spring or summer, not all is lost. There may be underwater cameras at his new home in Iceland or Ireland to beam pictures back to the Oregon Coast Aquarium.
IF YOU GO
– GETTING THERE
The Oregon Coast Aquarium is located on the Pacific coast in Newport, Ore., about 135 miles southwest of Portland.
– THE BASICS
The aquarium is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. after Memorial Day. Admission is $8.50 ($7.50 seniors, half-price age 4-13, children under 4 years of age are free). Call 541-867-3474. Or check the Web site: www.aquarium.org
Internet users also can get a live look at Keiko, plus updates on his move, on the Free Willy Keiko Foundation’s page: www.keiko.org
– INFORMATION
For lodgings and other sights in Newport, call the Chamber of Commerce: 800-262-7844.