World

Beluga whale pair move from Ukraine’s war-torn Kharkiv to Spain’s Valencia

2024.06.20 16:20

MADRID (Reuters) – Marine biologists have moved a pair of beluga whales from the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv – the target of daily shelling by Russian forces – to the eastern Spanish city of Valencia, in what they described as a long and risky international rescue operation.

The animals, 15-year-old male Plombir and 14-year-old female Miranda, arrived at Valencia’s famed Oceanografic complex late on Monday in a fragile state of health, according to a statement by the Spanish oceanarium.

They had endured a lengthy journey in fragile wooden crates that started with a 12-hour road trip from Kharkiv to the port city of Odesa. There, the belugas’ Ukrainian keepers met with a team of veterinarians from the Oceanografic as well as the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta and SeaWorld (NYSE:) theme parks.

After a quick check-up, they resumed the trip to the border with Moldova, which they crossed with the aid of the European Union’s Anti-Fraud Office. From Chisinau they boarded a five-hour flight to Valencia.

The regional leader of Valencia, Carlos Mazon, said the operation was “a historic feat of animal protection on a global level”.

The Oceanografic’s director of zoological operations, Daniel Garcia-Parraga, said that the whales’ condition had been “suboptimal to undertake this kind of journey, but if they had continued in Kharkiv, their chances of survival would have been very slim”.

Kharkiv’s NEMO dolphinarium was just 800 metres (2,600 feet) away from a site that was frequently shelled and the shockwaves caused severe stress on animals with such sensitive hearing.

But, Garcia-Parraga said on Wednesday, the belugas were in much better shape than vets had initially expected and were adapting well to their new home.

Plombir was already eating – which in that species is unusual right after transportation – but Miranda had yet to try her first bite, he added.

© Reuters. A screengrab from a video shows a Beluga whale from the NEMO aquarium in Kharkiv, Ukraine, as it is transported in a crate on its way to an aquarium in Valencia, Spain June 19, 2024. Oceonografic De Valencia/Reuters TV via REUTERS

The Oceanografic is the largest aquarium in Europe and the only one that houses beluga whales.

The white-hued mammals live in chilly waters in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. Males can reach a length of up to 5.5 metres and weigh up to 1.6 tons.



Source link

Related Articles

Back to top button
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 84,375.61 0.16%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 1,938.53 1.23%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 1.00 0.00%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 2.39 1.03%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 619.24 5.03%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 136.10 1.83%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 1.00 0.00%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.74453 0.54%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.175714 2.06%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.221764 0.21%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 1,936.44 1.38%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 84,231.57 0.32%
pi-network
Pi Network (PI) $ 1.46 3.25%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 9.75 0.28%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 14.01 2.08%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 3.57 22.10%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.274481 1.14%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 2,322.46 1.40%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 1.00 0.01%
hedera-hashgraph
Hedera (HBAR) $ 0.19283 1.16%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 19.33 4.09%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000013 0.15%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 2.35 0.91%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 92.30 0.76%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 342.41 2.72%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 4.34 3.43%
mantra-dao
MANTRA (OM) $ 6.62 5.80%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 0.999925 0.02%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 1,938.52 1.26%
bitget-token
Bitget Token (BGB) $ 4.47 1.75%
binance-bridged-usdt-bnb-smart-chain
Binance Bridged USDT (BNB Smart Chain) (BSC-USD) $ 1.00 0.12%
hyperliquid
Hyperliquid (HYPE) $ 14.27 2.87%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 28.89 1.56%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 2,060.64 1.30%
monero
Monero (XMR) $ 213.08 1.56%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 6.26 3.61%
susds
sUSDS (SUSDS) $ 1.04 0.04%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 5.33 2.36%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 1.00 0.02%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 2.63 0.59%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000007 0.84%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 5.82 2.68%
okb
OKB (OKB) $ 46.59 0.62%
ondo-finance
Ondo (ONDO) $ 0.870493 0.11%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 17.94 0.60%
mantle
Mantle (MNT) $ 0.799047 9.04%
gatechain-token
Gate (GT) $ 21.59 1.84%
aave
Aave (AAVE) $ 172.73 0.80%
coinbase-wrapped-btc
Coinbase Wrapped BTC (CBBTC) $ 84,324.59 0.14%
official-trump
Official Trump (TRUMP) $ 12.13 0.56%