Two beluga whales have been rescued from a war zone in Ukraine and taken to an aquarium in Spain.
The whale couple, Miranda and Plumper, were at the Nemo Dolphinarium in Kharkiv, a city on the border with Russia that suffers daily drone and missile attacks.
A team recruited from around the world, made up of marine mammal care experts from Oceanogràfic de Valley, Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, and SeaWorld, carried out the rescue, according to CNN.
The risky operation required the team of professionals to infiltrate a war zone, retrieve the two approximately 3,500-pound whales from the town, then transfer them to a plane waiting for them in Odessa to take them to Valencia, where they are currently located.
“The health and safety of the beluga whales was our top priority, and conditions were challenging, with rough roads, high temperatures and the risks inherent in being in an active war zone,” said Keith Yip, SeaWorld's animal care specialist. CNN.
The duo are receiving specialist care at the Oceanografic Aquarium in Valencia, where Ukrainian caregivers accompany them as they adapt to their new living environment, far from war.
