January 7, 1996
Web posted at: 7:30 p.m. EST (0030 GMT)
From Correspondents Rusty Dornin and Lucia Newman
NEWPORT, Oregon (CNN) -- The seven-thousand pound star of the movie "Free Willy" has reached his new home.
A crowd of people stood outside the Oregon Coast Aquarium Sunday to welcome Keiko to his new home. Keiko arrived in Newport by airplane Sunday around 5:30 p.m. EST. He was expected to arrive at the aquarium Sunday evening.
The chartered plane that carried the whale in a freight container dubbed the "Keiko Express" from Mexico City made a stop in Phoenix, Arizona, to pick up fresh water and ice for Keiko's tank.
Operation Adios Keiko was a major logistical undertaking. The trip began in Mexico City where Keiko has lived in a relatively small tank for the last 12 years.
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Surrounded by his trainers and experts in transporting marine mammals, the whale was put into a special sling and hoisted by crane into a railway container full of water, foam rubber and chopped ice that would help him avoid dehydration during the nine-hour flight.
Keiko was given a police escort worthy of a head of state as he left the amusement park that had been his home for the last decade. Despite the early morning hour, adoring fans of all ages were there to bid him a tearful farewell.
Sunday's flight took Keiko from Mexico City to Monterrey, Mexico, a refueling stop for the plane, then to Phoenix, Arizona, where U.S. customs checked him over before the final leg to Newport, Oregon.
To ensure Keiko's emotional health, two of his trainers will remain with him in Newport for up to six months, equipped with Keiko's favorite toys and other items. Trainer Karla Corral said those include the trainers' wet suits that Keiko will recognize. (136K AIFF sound or 136K WAV sound)
Keiko's Mexican owners agreed to let him leave because they could not provide him a large enough pool, or a mate. The colder sea water provided for him in a new state-of-the-art marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation center also will help rid Keiko of a spreading case of viral warts.
The whale's performing days, however, are over. The Free Willy Foundation, which launched the multi-million dollar campaign to transfer Keiko to a better home, ultimately wants to see the 15-year-old orca set free to rejoin his original pod, something that has never tried before.
The campaign was begun after it became known that the star of "Free Willy," a film about a captive orca winning his freedom, was himself kept captive in less-than-ideal conditions.
Orcas also are known as killer whales, but they in fact are not whales but the largest members of the dolphin family. And Keiko has anything but killer instincts. He will have to be taught to hunt and fend for himself in the wild.
But even if that is done, he won't be released unless his original family can be located, which will be no easy task. His pod was last seen 16 years ago somewhere off the coast of Iceland.
David Phillips, the Free Willy Foundation's director, said he recognizes the challenges, but said the move itself is worthwhile. "We know right from the start we're making a very bold and big step in favor of Keiko's health and longevity. Whether or not this takes us to the second step, to be able to relocate him into the wild, is unclear at this point," he said.
The experiment that is about to begin will be an unprecedented test to see if man can undo what it created when it domesticated a wild orca. It will be a real-life adventure that may well surpass the movie.
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