“Risky and complex rescue operation”: Dangerous evacuation: Two belugas brought from Ukraine to Spain

The belugas Plombir and Miranda were recently rescued from Ukraine. The rescue operation was dangerous. But in Kharkiv, according to one expert, their chances of survival would have been very slim.

Two beluga whales were rescued from Ukraine. According to a report on Oceanogràfic de Valencia, this was a “risky and complex rescue operation”. Several specialists are assisting the NEMO dolphinarium in Ukraine on June 17 and 18 to bring the animals Plombir and Miranda to safety.

“Their evacuation involved a dangerous 12-hour journey from Kharkiv to Odesa,” says Oceanogràfic de Valencia. The Ukrainian carers met the team from Oceanogràfic, Georgia Aquarium and SeaWorld there. There they underwent a quick health check and continued on to the Moldovan border.

A chartered plane with six seats was waiting in Chisinau. From there they flew to Valencia. The animals arrived there on the evening of June 18th.

Dr. Daniel Garcia-Párraga, head of the zoological department at Oceanografic, said in the statement: “The belugas are in a suboptimal physical condition to undertake such a journey, but if they had remained in Kharkiv, their chances of survival would have been very slim.”

“The complexity of this evacuation was immense, and we worked for weeks to prepare for it,” said Dennis Christen of the Georgia Aquarium.

Beluga whales weigh an average of 499 to 1143 kilograms and grow to be 3.4 to 4.6 meters tall, writes the Georgia Aquarium. Calves have an average birth weight of 54 to 66 kilograms and are 137 to 155 centimeters long.

The animals are omnivores. Belugas eat over 100 species of marine and freshwater fish, mollusks, crustaceans and even zooplankton, it is said.

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