Georgia Aquarium experts help rescue two beluga whales from war-torn Ukraine – WABE

Marine mammal care specialists from the Georgia Aquarium were part of a team that rescued two beluga whales from Ukraine this week and safely transported them to an aquarium in Spain.

This is probably the most complex marine mammal rescue of all time.

The multinational collaboration took place on Tuesday and concluded with the arrival of 15-year-old male Plombir and 14-year-old female Miranda at the Oceanographic Museum of Valencia. The aquarium is the largest in Europe and the only one on the continent to have belugas in its facilities, according to a press release.

“The complexity of this evacuation was enormous and we have been working for weeks to prepare for it,” said Dennis Christen, senior director of animal welfare and behavior at the Georgia Aquarium. “I am honored to have been entrusted with the care and protection of the belugas during their long journey to their new home.”

The operation began when a team from the NEMO dolphinarium in Kharkiv, Ukraine, took the belugas on a 12-hour journey to Odessa, a Ukrainian city 400 miles away. There they met the team of marine mammal care specialists from the Georgia Aquarium, Oceanographic Valencia and SeaWorld, who cared for the belugas during the long journey to Oceanografic Valencia in Spain.

Dr. Daniel Garcia-Párraga, zoological director of the Oceanographic Institute, said the belugas’ chances of survival would have been very slim if they had remained in Kharkiv.

“I applaud AZA members Oceanografic, Georgia Aquarium and SeaWorld for assembling the world’s most elite team of marine mammal experts to work with the Ukrainian Aquarium on what may be the most complex marine mammal rescue operation ever undertaken,” said Dan Ashe, President and CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

A team of medical, nutritional and behavioral experts from Oceanographic is helping the belugas recover from the trauma they have experienced. Two Ukrainian keepers will also be on hand over the next few weeks to help with the transition and care, the press release said.

“My heart goes out to the Ukrainian keepers and the people of Kharkiv who had to say goodbye to Miranda and Plombir,” said Christen from the Georgia Aquarium. “It is not easy, but it was the best thing for them. I am proud that I was able to help them,”