Russia to Release Orcas Too Far From Home?

The Russian government has gone back on its word and announced plans to release 10 orcas, now held in the notorious Whale Jail in Bay of Srednyaya on the Pacific Coast, but the release will be far from the place where they were originally captured. Essentially, the Russian government wants to open the gates and release the orcas where they are.

Scientists have examined the whales and believe they can be released, but first some will need treatment for skin lesions and other potential diseases picked up in the confines of the Whale Jail.

Furthermore, scientists uniformly agree that the orcas and beluga whales should be returned this summer, when the ice has melted, in the Sea of Okhotsk where they were originally caught and where they will have a favorable chance of joining their original or a new pod of whales. The whales are currently hundreds of miles away from the site where they were captured, and no one knows where their wild pods of orcas and beluga whales are at this time of year.

A release in the Bay of Srednyaya would likely be disastrous for the whales. They may not know where to go and may well hang around the area, begging for fish from humans they encounter. Furthermore, there is considerable boat traffic and water pollution in the area. There is growing concern that the Russian government could use the planned release as a way to justify bringing the orcas back into captivity permanently.

Russian conservationists are fighting hard against this threat, and scientists are rallying to denounce the new plan. Already, major stories critical of the plan have appeared in the Daily Mail, Sky News, and the Times of the United Kingdom, and we are hoping for more stories in Russian media.

In the meantime, the International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) of Earth Island Institute has been working to contact dozens of celebrities to help spread the word by tweeting the news to their followers on Twitter. We collected signatures from world leaders, business leaders and international celebrities for a letter (composed by IMMP and other groups) to President Putin of Russia, which helped lead the way for the visit of the independent team of international scientists, who did extensive evaluations of the whales last month. IMMP has also helped fund the travel costs of some of the scientists who visited the Whale Jail.

Hopefully, the Russian government can be convinced to drop this plan and instead move to improve the holding pens for the Whale Jail whales while putting together a program to return the whales to their home waters and their families.

Plans for the 87 beluga whales also held in the Whale Jail have not been made, but some government representatives have suggested keeping them for another year where they are.

Keep coming back to our blogs for the latest news on the Whale Jail whales.

'Photos of Whale Jail in Srednyaya Bay by Harry Rabin.

We are working full-time to ensure the orcas and beluga whales are released from the Russian Whale Jail at the proper time and, most importantly, back with their families in the area where they were captured. This isn’t easy, but we have colleagues in Russia and scientists from around the world working with us. Your donations are key to our success. Please donate now for the Russian Whale Jail Whales!