Two Beluga Whales Are Rescued From Performing As Show Animals In China, And Their Smiles Say It All
Rehoming animals is a tough job that requires a lot of responsibility. But taking two whales to a new continent in the middle of a global pandemic is about as hard as it gets.
Nevertheless, it’s done. Two belugas, Little Grey and Little White, are enjoying their first taste of the sea since 2011, thanks to a relocation project that has been years in the making.
Both of them were captured off the coast of Russia when they were still very young and have spent years performing in a Chinese aquarium.
Now, the two are getting used to Beluga Whale Sanctuary, run by British charity Sea Life Trust, in Iceland.
Image credits: SEA LIFE Trust Beluga Whale Sanctuary
Bored Panda spoke with Leonie Sophia van den Hoek, a scientific and fantasy writer who’s a marine biologist and scientific researcher, to find out more about these awesome creatures.
“In my opinion, beluga whales are like the unicorns of whales because of their unusual and beautiful white color,” van den Hoek said. “They also lack a dorsal fin which makes them even more unusual among cetaceans.”
Sadly, due to us humans, their life is only harder. “We are making their home — the sea — warmer and dirtier. “Beluga whales live in open water areas close to the ice edge. They like it cold, and climate change is causing the ice in their habitats to melt,” van den Hoek explained. “Another problem is our use of plastic. It was found in nearly every beluga whale that was tested.”
This may sound absurd, but it’s true. A pioneering study of 7 belugas in Canada’s remote Arctic waters has found microplastics in the innards of every single whale.
Image credits: The Press Association
The charity stated that the two 12-year-old females arrived safely at Klettsvik Bay, where they will stay in a bayside care pool for a short period of time to acclimatize before being released into the wider sanctuary.
Klettsvik Bay is the world’s first open water sanctuary for belugas.
“It’s been quite the journey for these two,” Audrey Padgett, the Beluga Whale Sanctuary’s general manager, told CNN on a video call. “It hasn’t been easy, but it’s definitely been a labor of love.”
Image credits: The Press Association
In 2011, Little Grey and Little White were transferred from a Russian research facility to the Changfeng Ocean World aquarium in Shanghai. The following year, however, Merlin Entertainments, a company opposed to keeping whales and dolphins in captivity, bought the aquarium and the idea of taking the whales back to the sea was born.
According to Padgett, the belugas’ new home is a much “larger, natural environment” with lots of potential benefits.
Image credits: SEA LIFE Trust Beluga Whale Sanctuary
She said there are more than 300 belugas in captivity around the world.
Image credits: SEA LIFE Trust Beluga Whale Sanctuary
Image credits: SEA LIFE Trust Beluga Whale Sanctuary
Padgett highlighted that moving two belugas was no easy task. They each weigh a little more than a ton (2,000 pounds) and consume around 110 pounds of fish per day between them. The operation required specially designed equipment, veterinarians, and a whole lot of water and ice to keep them hosed down.
Little Grey and Little White had bespoke “stretchers” or slings to move them overland, and the team did “practice runs” to get them used to being moved via trucks, tugboats, and cranes, Padgett explained. “If you’re trying to take your cat or your dog somewhere, you want them to have a positive association with travel … We had to make the belugas as comfortable as possible.”
Image credits: SEA LIFE Trust Beluga Whale Sanctuary
After their arrival in Iceland, the whales were kept in a care facility with a quarantine pool for several months, allowing them to adjust to the colder Icelandic environment. Though the final part of the journey from the care facility to the sanctuary was a lot shorter than the 6,000-mile trip from Chengfeng Ocean World, the pandemic complicated it significantly.
“We’re already in a pretty remote location here in Iceland. It affected our ability to get experts here to help us with the move. It affected our ability to get supplies and just the length of time it took to do things,” Padgett said.
Image credits: ABC News
“We also needed to protect our staff and put them into quarantine, because we need our people to take care of our animals.”
Little Grey and Little White’s odyssey still isn’t over. They are currently in an “acclimatization space” within the sanctuary. Padgett said, however, that they will have freedom over the sanctuary any day now.
Image credits: ABC News
Van den Hoek is very happy that the two whales were moved from an aquarium in Shanghai to a cold seawater sanctuary in Iceland. “Belugas are destined for a life in cold waters. The low temperature of the seawater and a big swimming place is a very good solution for whales who aren’t capable of going back to the artic. If they can adjust good to the new situation, they will be fine.”
“If we take care of our plastic waste and our use of gas, then we are also indirectly taking care of the beluga whale,” van den Hoek added.
Image credits: ABC News
Image credits: ABC News
Image credits: ABC News
Image credits: ABC News
Image credits: The Press Association
To learn more about the operation, check out the video below
Image credits: ABC News
Here’s what people have been saying about it
Good job, hoomins! And I love it that they made practice trips rather than just sedating them.
All zoos and aquariums must be closed down, and the animals must be returned to nature or sent to sanctuaries.
Zoos are actually necessary for conservation. What we need to do is improve conditions in those zoos.
Load More Replies...Whales are highly intelligent social creatures. They deserve all the help we can give them. Thank you so much for rescuing them despite the pandemic. Also..I commend you all for doing your part to prevent the spread all while saving our earth most precious beings..much love!
I'm so glad these two have made it out of a horrendous life and can now live a happy one. I hope more like this can be done and more legislation put in place to protect animals internationally and tougher penalties on vile humans who don't treat animals with respect.
2 saved now how about all of the whales, porposies, dolphins etc be released around the world...BRAVO and THANK YOU to all who love and care for all of HIS animal friends of the land, air and seas. Tho it is not a smile from the beluga whales I will take it as I am smiling all day with that picture.
We are ecstatic about the rescue, Bless all of you, hope in the future, there will be many animals, saved from a horrific life, many around the world, need to be rescued !!!
For the record this trust has actually worked to prevent other Belugas from being rescued from bad conditions. I'm not saying they don't mean well but it's a complicated issue.
Load More Replies...Haters gonna hate, but... If we keep calling it a "smile", we're feeding the problem. If you call that "smile", next time you don't see one on a rescued animal's face, stupid people will say "It looked happier in captivity!" They're not smiling. They're also not smiling when they are forced to perform for imbecile humans.
MAGGIE ZHANG, you must have woken up from a very long comma. Children are "raised up" by their cruel parents, children are being desensitized; a very small minority of people are horrified by animal cruelty. BTW, there never be human rights, equality, justice without animal rights, period! "As long as man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings, he will NEVER know HEALTH or PEACE. For as long as men massacre animals they WILL kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain CANNOT reap joy and love." - Pythagoras, Greek mathematician & philosopher (570 - 480 BC/BCE) ......it was true millennia ago, it is true now and it always will be. Why don't "good" people get it? We don't have much time left, we are on the road to self-destruction.... well deserved self-destruction. But what the hell animals did wrong to deserve all that suffering??
Load More Replies...Restored some faith in humanity. Well done getting these two liberated and shame on anyone who goes to watch animals 'perform'. You won't need a coat where you're going.
Not that we shouldn't treat animals better, but I find it interesting that people sit there saying other people are going to hell for using animals for entertainment, all while wearing their clothes and commenting using their phones, both the result of child labor.
Load More Replies...I've deleted 2X. YES we know they aren't actually smiling. Let it go!
Who the heck cares, Dorothy Cloud, if they are smiling or not; they are being freed, so we should be smiling, and appreciating any display of compassion towards defenseless, suffering sentient beings.
Load More Replies...What a heart warming story. This truly touched my heart when I realized that these magnificent whales were rescued from this horrible country!! These morons have no respect for human life so why would we ever think that they would treat any life with dignity. They eat dogs for goodness sake! These whales look so happy and even relieved that they have a new home now thanks to the good hearts of all those people who dared to carry this off! Thank you guys!
Who down-voted Anna's comment must "love" dogs and cats very much.
Load More Replies...Any animal to be removed from that f****d up country is lucky indeed. The abuse and neglect is rampant there. Thank you for saving these two beautiful souls.
Also thanks for calling my grandparents' country, and my heritage, "f*cked up". That's like judging all of america based on people like trump.
Load More Replies...I'm thrilled for any whale released from the torture of captivity, but if you think they're "smiling" you have s**t for brains..do you really think they aren't terrifed wondering what the F is going on being lifted with a crane?! FFS
Plot twist: Actually, Japanese rescued the whales and now they're made into burgers.
And they are slaughtering dolphins too. Stop down-voting any comment exposing animal killings, and own your cruelty.
Load More Replies...Rather to be "idiots" than heartless, insensitive, unfeeling "smart" person, what do you think, iblowsheep? It's better for animals and people.
Load More Replies...Why pick on the Chinese? Should the US be proud of its cattle feedlots, puppy mills, poultry houses where billions of chickens live on top of a pile of dung and corpses, pig houses where animals as intelligent as pet dogs live over an open pit of slurry? First remove the beam in thine own eye.
Load More Replies...Watch "Black Fish" on netflix and learn something. The documentary shows you that the orcas have actual emotions and thrive in their natural environment. Animals are not meant to be used to entertain humans.
Load More Replies...Good job, hoomins! And I love it that they made practice trips rather than just sedating them.
All zoos and aquariums must be closed down, and the animals must be returned to nature or sent to sanctuaries.
Zoos are actually necessary for conservation. What we need to do is improve conditions in those zoos.
Load More Replies...Whales are highly intelligent social creatures. They deserve all the help we can give them. Thank you so much for rescuing them despite the pandemic. Also..I commend you all for doing your part to prevent the spread all while saving our earth most precious beings..much love!
I'm so glad these two have made it out of a horrendous life and can now live a happy one. I hope more like this can be done and more legislation put in place to protect animals internationally and tougher penalties on vile humans who don't treat animals with respect.
2 saved now how about all of the whales, porposies, dolphins etc be released around the world...BRAVO and THANK YOU to all who love and care for all of HIS animal friends of the land, air and seas. Tho it is not a smile from the beluga whales I will take it as I am smiling all day with that picture.
We are ecstatic about the rescue, Bless all of you, hope in the future, there will be many animals, saved from a horrific life, many around the world, need to be rescued !!!
For the record this trust has actually worked to prevent other Belugas from being rescued from bad conditions. I'm not saying they don't mean well but it's a complicated issue.
Load More Replies...Haters gonna hate, but... If we keep calling it a "smile", we're feeding the problem. If you call that "smile", next time you don't see one on a rescued animal's face, stupid people will say "It looked happier in captivity!" They're not smiling. They're also not smiling when they are forced to perform for imbecile humans.
MAGGIE ZHANG, you must have woken up from a very long comma. Children are "raised up" by their cruel parents, children are being desensitized; a very small minority of people are horrified by animal cruelty. BTW, there never be human rights, equality, justice without animal rights, period! "As long as man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings, he will NEVER know HEALTH or PEACE. For as long as men massacre animals they WILL kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain CANNOT reap joy and love." - Pythagoras, Greek mathematician & philosopher (570 - 480 BC/BCE) ......it was true millennia ago, it is true now and it always will be. Why don't "good" people get it? We don't have much time left, we are on the road to self-destruction.... well deserved self-destruction. But what the hell animals did wrong to deserve all that suffering??
Load More Replies...Restored some faith in humanity. Well done getting these two liberated and shame on anyone who goes to watch animals 'perform'. You won't need a coat where you're going.
Not that we shouldn't treat animals better, but I find it interesting that people sit there saying other people are going to hell for using animals for entertainment, all while wearing their clothes and commenting using their phones, both the result of child labor.
Load More Replies...I've deleted 2X. YES we know they aren't actually smiling. Let it go!
Who the heck cares, Dorothy Cloud, if they are smiling or not; they are being freed, so we should be smiling, and appreciating any display of compassion towards defenseless, suffering sentient beings.
Load More Replies...What a heart warming story. This truly touched my heart when I realized that these magnificent whales were rescued from this horrible country!! These morons have no respect for human life so why would we ever think that they would treat any life with dignity. They eat dogs for goodness sake! These whales look so happy and even relieved that they have a new home now thanks to the good hearts of all those people who dared to carry this off! Thank you guys!
Who down-voted Anna's comment must "love" dogs and cats very much.
Load More Replies...Any animal to be removed from that f****d up country is lucky indeed. The abuse and neglect is rampant there. Thank you for saving these two beautiful souls.
Also thanks for calling my grandparents' country, and my heritage, "f*cked up". That's like judging all of america based on people like trump.
Load More Replies...I'm thrilled for any whale released from the torture of captivity, but if you think they're "smiling" you have s**t for brains..do you really think they aren't terrifed wondering what the F is going on being lifted with a crane?! FFS
Plot twist: Actually, Japanese rescued the whales and now they're made into burgers.
And they are slaughtering dolphins too. Stop down-voting any comment exposing animal killings, and own your cruelty.
Load More Replies...Rather to be "idiots" than heartless, insensitive, unfeeling "smart" person, what do you think, iblowsheep? It's better for animals and people.
Load More Replies...Why pick on the Chinese? Should the US be proud of its cattle feedlots, puppy mills, poultry houses where billions of chickens live on top of a pile of dung and corpses, pig houses where animals as intelligent as pet dogs live over an open pit of slurry? First remove the beam in thine own eye.
Load More Replies...Watch "Black Fish" on netflix and learn something. The documentary shows you that the orcas have actual emotions and thrive in their natural environment. Animals are not meant to be used to entertain humans.
Load More Replies...
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