Russian Whale Jail Whale Rejoins Family
The International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) of Earth Island Institute is one of the lead organizations working globally to help return the Whale Jail whales of Russia to their home in the Sea of Okhotsk and permanently ban such wild captures in Russian waters.
One of the major questions that confronts the release of cetaceans: Will they be able to find and rejoin their original family pods, despite being in captivity for a prolonged period of time?
A positive answer has now emerged for one of the Whale Jail orcas who has been released. On August 20th, Grigory Tsidulko and other Russian researchers studying bowhead whales around the Shantar Sea were able to photograph a pod of killer whales that included an orca with a satellite tag.
The orca has been identified as a female named Vasilievna from the first release of Whale Jail whales on June 27th. She was swimming with seven other orcas, which were able to catch two seals.
Additionally, the Russian government has reported that Alexandra, one of the released orcas who approached fishing boats and took fish from fishing nets, has rejoined three other orcas released a few weeks after her release, and the four are now swimming together. This bodes well as lone orcas have a more challenging time finding food as well as being bereft of contact with others of their species. The information was determined by the satellite tags attached to the orcas.
This is all hopeful news for the orcas and beluga whales, which have been kept in captivity for almost a year in the Whale Jail.
To date, eleven orcas and twelve beluga whales have been returned to the Sea of Okhotsk where they were captured last summer. They were to be sold to aquariums in China, but the sale was blocked by the Russian government due to objections from activists in Russia and public opposition from international scientists and celebrities.
Seventy-five beluga whales remain in the Whale Jail, and the Russian government expects to release them to their home waters by October or November.
The government has further pledged to ban wild captures permanently, although one branch of the Russian government is reportedly developing new quotas for captures of cetaceans (including beluga whales) for 2020. IMMP and Russian activists are working to stop these new quotas and implement a permanent ban.
Photo copyright: Grigory Tsidulko/#openeyestravel.
The International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute needs your support to ensure that every remaining whale in the Whale Jail is returned to its home waters and a permanent ban on captures of cetaceans in Russian waters is achieved. Your donations will help us succeed in protecting these whales. Thank you for your support!
