Beluga whales rescued from war-torn Ukraine and brought to Spanish aquarium

Who can resist a good rescue story? And when it involves a pair of the world’s most extraordinary animals, what more could you want? Two beluga whales were rescued from an aquarium in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine and safely transported thousands of miles to their safe home in Valencia, Spain.

The two beluga whales, a 15-year-old male named Plombir and a 14-year-old female named Miranda, had been living in a dolphinarium in Kharkiv that had been evacuating animals since the war between Russia and Ukraine began in 2022. However, the process of relocating the belugas is a highly complicated undertaking that required many months of careful planning.

Their epic journey included a 12-hour drive from Kharkiv to Odessa before crossing the Moldovan border. In Chisinau, a small chartered six-seater plane was waiting for the team and the two Belugas to fly the group on to Valencia. According to the New York Times, the journey took 36 hours and covered more than 3,000 kilometers.

“This courageous rescue represents a historic milestone in animal welfare worldwide. It is an honour that the Oceanogràfic (de Valencia) has rescued these two belugas from the horrors of the war in Ukraine. They have been through a difficult situation in recent months and the Oceanogràfic experts will work hard to help them recover,” said Carlos Mazón, the president of the Valencia Region, Generalitat Valenciana, in a statement.

Miranda and Plombir will begin their new life at the Oceanogràfic Valencia, the largest aquarium in Europe and the only one with facilities for the care of beluga whales. Two Ukrainian keepers will stay with the whales for the first two weeks and help them acclimate to their new environment.

“The war has led to shortages of food, energy and medicine, making it difficult to access other basic necessities for animal care, as well as the technical tools necessary for the logistics of such a delicate rescue operation,” said Dr. Daniel Garcia-Párraga, Director of Zoological Operations at Oceanogràfic. “The belugas are not in optimal physical condition to survive such a journey, but if they had continued on from Kharkiv, their chances of survival would have been very slim.”

In the wild, beluga whales are highly social animals, typically living in groups and returning to the same area each year to calve, explains the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They are known as the “canaries of the sea” because of their wide range of vocalizations, such as whistles, squeaks and clicks. They have flexible head shells that can change shape to help them communicate.

“The belugas are being cared for in separate areas that are not accessible or visible to the public while they recover and acclimate,” Garcia said. “We will keep you updated on their health and well-being as things develop. We are extremely grateful to everyone who helped with this rescue.”