Oregon Coast Aquarium

Description: The Oregon Coast Aquarium opened in 1992 in Yaquina Bay in Newport. It became known worldwide when it was home to Keiko the orca from January 1996 to September 1998. Keiko came here from an aquarium in Mexico before being released back into the wild in Iceland in the fall of 1998. Keiko rose to fame with the film Free Willy . Although Keiko's story ultimately ended very sadly and the reintroduction was unsuccessful, it did raise people's awareness of whales, some of which are kept in aquariums under torturous conditions. Much has changed in the keeping of marine mammals since then. Many aquariums even gave up keeping whales and dolphins altogether. The Oregon Coast Aquarium still enjoys a very good reputation today. It is primarily home to flora and fauna native to the Oregon Coast.

Our rating: Probably without Keiko we would never have ended up here. At that time, the orca and its sad story was all over the media. When we were here, the whale was about to be released. You could only look at him through a glass pane that was transparent on one side. The animal was completely isolated from all visitors and had contact only with its keepers. This should facilitate the reintroduction. However, we really enjoyed the aquarium in addition to this story. As is often the case, such facilities in the U.S. are designed to be very interesting and educational. We can only recommend a visit.