Date: Tues, 17 Oct 1995
KEIKO'S ARRIVAL DATE SET FOR OREGON COAST AQUARIUM

Keiko, the killer whale star of "Free Willy" and "Free Willy 2," will move into his brand-new home at the Oregon Coast Aquarium on January 7, 1996, barring any unforeseen complications. The target date was released jointly today by the Aquarium, the Free Willy-Keiko Foundation and Reino Aventura, Keiko's current home in Mexico City.

"By locking in a target arrival date, we are moving this project another giant step ahead," says Dave Phillips, president of the Free Willy-Keiko Foundation. "This is an extraordinary time in the history of an extraordinary project, and it's thanks, in large part, to the Oregon Coast Aquarium and all the people around the world who've donated their time and money to make this possible.

Keiko's new two-million-gallon pool is already 85 percent complete. The $7.3 million facility has been under construction at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport since February. The pool is nearly four times larger than Keiko's current pool at the Mexico City amusement park, and will feature not only cold, clean natural sea water but adjustable water currents, a changeable underwater curtain of air bubbles and water jets, and an underwater rocky "rubbing beach" to provide Keiko with acoustic variety as well as a place to scratch. The new facility is 150 feet long, 75 feet wide and 25 feet deep.

Already in hand at the Oregon Coast Aquarium and Reino Aventura are the government permits necessary to relocate Keiko in the United States. Three permits are required, in all: an export permit from the Mexican government, an import/display permit from the US government, and a permit in compliance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITIES), an international agreement that governs traffic in a number of endangered and non-endangered animal species.

The Aquarium is currently interviewing experienced marine mammologists to take care of Keiko. Three full-time positions will be filled by early December. In addition, two of Keiko's Mexican keepers will join the Aquarium staff for several months to ease the transition.

"Having Keiko's trainers here will help both our staff and Keiko," says Phyllis Bell, president of the Oregon Coast Aquarium. "For one thing, Keiko responds to commands in Spanish. We'll have to either retrain our staff to speak Spanish, too, or teach Keiko to recognize English."

The trainers will also help their Oregon Coast Aquarium counterparts interpret Keiko's behaviors and idiosyncrasies.

In the meantime, Keiko continues to live in a small pool in Mexico City, where he performs in shows. His medical condition is stable. He is roughly a ton underweight, suffers from skin lesions caused by a papilloma virus, has worn down teeth, and a fallen dorsal fin.

Fundraising continues both for the pool's completion and for Keiko's first two years of care, including his veterinary care, food, staff and transportation to Oregon from Mexico City. Roughly $6.5 million has been raised. The project's goal is $8.5 million. Donations are welcome, and can be made to the Free Willy-Keiko Foundation, care of the Oregon Coast Aquarium, 2820 S.E. Ferry Slip Road, Newport, OR 97365. More information is also available by calling 1-800-4-WHALES or 1-503-867-3474.

The Oregon Coast Aquarium was first approached about providing a home for Keiko in May 1994. Earth Island Institute, an environmental advocacy group in San Francisco, was charged with finding Keiko a suitable rehabilitation site. The Institute identified four main criteria that would guide its selection: the chosen facility must not have performing animals, must have an educational mission, must have an ample supply of cold, clean, natural sea water, and must have the room for a sizable expansion. After a year and a half of searching, the Oregon Coast Aquarium was the one facility in the country identified by the Institute as successfully meeting all these criteria.

The Aquarium deliberated over its decision to accept Keiko and the new rehabilitation facility until it was satisfied that the rehabilitation facility would offer visitors a unique educational opportunity. The Aquarium's mission is to educate the general public in an entertaining way about the abundant resources of the Oregon coast, and orcas are often found off Oregon's shores.

The Oregon Coast Aquarium is a private, nonprofit, educational facility that is now in its fourth year of operation. In addition to the new rehabilitation facility, the facility is currently planning an expansion that will complete exhibits on freshwater streams, estuaries and upland forests.

CONTACT: Diane Hammond,
PR Officer, Oregon Coast Aquarium,
503-867-3474, ext. 5224; or
David Phillips, President,
Free Willy-Keiko Foundation, 415-788-3666



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