Two beluga whales have arrived safely in Spain after a grueling odyssey across Europe from a war-torn part of Ukraine.
Bombs were dropping close to the whales’ home at the NEMO Dolphinarium in Kharkiv, according to a June 19 news release from the Georgia Aquarium. So, rescuers made a plan to bring them to safety, but the journey wasn’t easy.
In addition to Ukraine being at war, the whales were not in the best shape. Food and medicine shortages had caused their health to diminish.
The whales had a “suboptimal body condition to undertake this type of trip, but if they had continued in Kharkiv, their chances of survival would have been very slim,” said Dr. Daniel Garcia-Párraga, director of zoological operations at Oceanogràfic Valencia.
Since the Russia’s invasion in 2022, the dolphinarium has been slowly evacuating its animals. However, moving two beluga whales is a whole other feat.
“The complexities of this evacuation were immense, and we have been working for weeks to prepare for it,” said Dennis Christen, senior director of animal well-being and behavior at the Georgia Aquarium.
The rescue was treacherous and required efforts from multiple countries.
The day of evacuation, rescuers took the two belugas – 15-year-old Plombir, a male, and 14-year-old Miranda, a female. In a vehicle, the group braved the dangerous, 12-hour drive from Kharkiv to Odesa.
In Odesa, they met the team from the Georgia Aquarium who conducted health checks on the whales before continuing onward to Moldova.
A six-seater charter plane awaited the group in Chisinau.
They landed on June 18 in Valencia, where the general director of Natural and Animal Environment of Valencia met the whales and rescuers. The belugas were brought to their new home at Oceanogràfic Valencia, the largest aquarium in Europe.
Officials at the aquarium described the duo as being in “delicate health” when they arrived.
“This courageous rescue constitutes a historic milestone worldwide in terms of animal protection,” said Carlos Mazón, the president of the Valencia region Generalitat Valenciana. “It is an honor that the Oceanogràfic has rescued these two belugas from the horror of the war in Ukraine.”
The whales are now settling in.
The aquarium will give the duo time to recover before being seen by the public.
Two Ukrainian caregivers are staying with them for the first few weeks to ease their transition and care. In addition, the belugas have a team of medical, nutritional and behavioral professionals helping them.
“They have experienced a difficult situation in recent months, and the experts at Oceanogràfic will be working intensely to help them recover,” Mazón said.
