Crossroads for Keiko.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Keiko the whale, star of the two "Free Willy" films, has made only sporadic progress in his adjustment to the open sea. After meandering with other whales across nearly 1,000 miles of ocean to Norwegian waters, Keiko's trainers have taken him back under their wings - at least for the time being. The setback should not be permanent.

One of Keiko's problems is his popularity. When he arrived in Norway's Skaalvik Fjord earlier this month, he was besieged by admirers who trailed him in boats, scratched his back, fed him fish and even got in the water to ride on his back. None of that helps prepare Keiko for life in the wild.

So the trainers took back control of Keiko and began feeding him, treating him with antibiotics and encouraging him to exercise by following their boat around the fjord. The trainers are also asking the public to steer clear of Keiko, and obtained a directive from the Norwegian government telling people to stay away from the orca.

Keiko's story is well known to Oregonians: His movie stardom, his long confinement in an undersized tank at a Mexican amusement park, and his rescue by the Free Willy Keiko Foundation - now working with the Humane Society of the United States - in an effort to restore his health and freedom. If the effort were successful, Keiko would become the first captive orca ever to return to the wild. The rehabilitation process began in 1996, when Keiko moved into a $7.3 million, 2 million-gallon tank at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport. Nearly three years later, and after being visited by more than 2.5 million people, he was airlifted to a holding pen in waters off Iceland. This summer, he began his forays into the open sea and wended his way to Norway.

Apart from Keiko's "rescue" from a fawning Norwegian public, his story took still another turn when the Miami Seaquarium stormed into the picture. The marine park applied to the National Marine Fisheries Service for permission to transport Keiko to Miami to put him on display. Apart from shattering a nine-year, $20 million experiment in wildlife rehabilitation, returning Keiko to captivity would turn him into a spectacle. The aquarium already has a 36-year-old orca that performs circuslike tricks, such as leaping into the air and sliding onto a platform. That is not the kind of future Keiko deserves.

Seaquarium silliness aside, it's still not known whether Keiko can return to the wild. It's certainly too soon for Keiko's fans everywhere to give up their hopes that, as in "Free Willy," he can - and will.