CNN —Two beluga whales have been rescued from the besieged city of Kharkiv in Ukraine and taken to an aquarium in Valencia, Spain, in a complex operation.
A multinational team involving marine mammal care experts from Oceanogràfic de Valencia, the largest oceanarium in Europe; Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta; and SeaWorld were involved in the high-risk journey.
The pair of belugas – a 15-year-old male named Plombir and a 14-year-old female called Miranda – arrived in “delicate health” Tuesday evening after a “grueling journey,” according to Georgia Aquarium.
“The city is facing increasing threat from artillery fire, which has intensified in recent weeks, with bombs dropping within a few hundred meters of the aquarium,” Georgia Aquarium said in a press release.
The journey began Monday when the team first removed the whales from Ukraine’s NEMO Dolphinarium and drove them 12 hours from Kharkiv to Odesa.
Persons:
Oceanogràfic de, Miranda –, Ukraine’s NEMO Dolphinarium, “, ”, Keith Yip
Organizations:
CNN, Oceanogràfic, Georgia Aquarium, SeaWorld
Locations:
Kharkiv, Ukraine, Valencia, Spain, Oceanogràfic de Valencia, Europe, Georgia, Atlanta, Ukraine’s, Russia, Russian, Odesa, Moldova, Moldovan, Chisinau