Keiko, the killer whale from the movie Free Willy, just made a big splash in Oregon. On January 7 Keiko (Kay-ko) traveled by plane from a small amusement-park pool in Mexico City to a big seawater pool designed to help him get healthy.
He was gently lowered by a crane into the 2 million-gallon pool at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport. Keiko seemed to like his new home: he flapped his tail, swam in circles, snacked on fresh fish and made sounds like a normal killer whale, or orca. Hundreds of people clapped and chanted his name.
"I was thrilled to see him swim off and start eating and squealing," said Lanny Cornell, his veterinarian.
Keiko was surely the freakiest-looking airplane passenger ever! He was covered with a special cream so his skin would not dry out. Then he was packed in a container filled with rubber and ice. During the flight, trainers sprayed him with salt water every 30 minutes. Keiko was the biggest package ever delivered by the United Parcel Service--40,000 pounds! UPS sent the whale for free.
Cornell says that Keiko's health must improve. The 7,700-pound orca has a skin virus; his back fin droops; he needs to gain about 2,000 pounds; and his teeth are damaged from chewing his old concrete pool. But in his roomy new home, Keiko may get strong enough to be set free near Iceland, where he was born.