Famous Orcas from Alaskan Rescue Effort Pop Up on Oregon Coast, Blowing Up Social

Published 06/24/26 at 5:55 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Newport, Oregon) – Not since “Free Willy's” freedom trip from the Oregon Coast Aquarium back in the '90s has there been a visit from such a famous whale (or two). Oregon's Keiko made worldwide news then for being the first whale in captivity to be freed in such a grand manner, but some 20 years later the names T049A2 and T051 became almost as well known for getting stuck in an Alaskan Lake and then freed by rather elaborate means. (Above: T049A2 is the one with the lopsided fin, which could be from an injury or just genetics. Photo Elijah Foster)

Last week, the famous pair were spotted on the central Oregon coast. The two orcas that made a splash in 2023 popped up at Yaquina Bay and did a bit of – well, whatever it is killer whales do in bays. Elijah Foster caught the action on camera.

Their presence lit up social media, to the tune of thousands to tens of thousands checking it out – especially as Oregon Whale Sightings pointed out their celebrity presence. If orcas could be influencers, these two blubbery bruh's would be it.

“These two are really popular in the Puget Sound and Salish Sea,” said Julie Conrad, head of the Facebook group that often talks about whale sightings in real time.

Just before their six weeks of fame, the pair had traipsed around Oregon waters.

“In the spring of 2023, T049A2 made his way south to Oregon with his uncle, T049C,” Conrad told Oregon Coast Beach Connection. “They ended up parting ways, and T049A2 spent the rest of the spring, traveling and hunting with T051 in Oregon.”

It was in the late summer when those two got themselves in trouble.

In August of 2023, this pair of killer whales became stuck inside a lake at Alaska's Prince of Wales Island for a month and a half. Barnes Lake has only two routes in or out, and both were not traversable by whales this size during anything but rather high tides. Even then, one of the channels proved too tough initially because of large kelp beds beneath.

Likely chasing seal or sea lion prey into the lake, they were stranded long enough that researchers and experts knew they would likely starve soon, as the pinnipeds followed salmon and the salmon were disappearing.

Then came the response: an intricate and innovative set of curious approaches from a wide variety of agencies, including NOAA and the Nature Conservancy.

The high-tide window around the end of September that year offered the best chance to guide the whales out. With only short periods to operate, crews used several techniques..

The plan called for a lead boat to broadcast acoustic callbacks to draw the whales into the channel and toward the ocean, signaling that other whales were present and the route was safe. Once the whales entered the channel, additional vessels followed behind, deploying the hukilau as a visual barrier to keep the animals from turning back. Oikomi pipes were available to make noise with but ultimately weren’t required.

The first try wound up unsuccessful because one of the whales was too big to make it past the kelp beds. The second day, one group worked on removing kelp from the previous channel while another tried shuffling the whales out of the second channel. The two responded immediately to the female whale calls and this time the mission worked.

T051 and T049A2 were freed and in good condition. The coverage back then had millions riveted around the world, and many still watch for the pair today - at least online.

“T049A2 is the second oldest offspring of T049A, who was just seen recently in Oregon with the rest of her pod, and her new baby,” Conrad told Oregon Coast Beach Connection. “T049A2 is the nephew of T049B, who's been seen several times recently in Oregon.”

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