How do you evacuate whales from a warzone?
Two captive belugas have been resettled from Ukraine to Spain.
A pair of beluga whales have been evacuated from the besieged city of Kharkiv in Ukraine. They were taken to Europe’s largest aquarium — the Oceanogrà fic de Valencia in Spain.
Mora from the What in the World team explains how the ongoing war in Ukraine put the belugas at risk. And Daniel Garcia-Párraga, director of zoological operations at Oceanogrà fic, describes the complex rescue mission.
The evacuation of the belugas has sparked discussions about animal captivity more generally. Rob Lott from the wildlife charity Whale and Dolphin Conservation tells us how perceptions of aquariums are changing around the world. Jeffrey Ventre, a former trainer at SeaWorld in Florida, describes what life at the aquarium was like for Tilikum — the killer whale that was the focus of 2013 documentary Blackfish.
Finally, we meet Hot Pink Dolphins, which describes itself as Korea’s first aquarium dolphin liberation movement. One of its activists Oh Yeon-jae explains why she's committed to protecting endangered marine life and returning animals to the wild.
Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld
WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6
Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk
Presenter: William Lee Adams and Mora Morrison
Producer: Mora Morrison
Editor: Verity Wilde
Last on
Broadcasts
- Wed 26 Jun 2024 17:50GMT91Èȱ¬ World Service News Internet
- Thu 27 Jun 2024 02:50GMT91Èȱ¬ World Service East and Southern Africa, South Asia, West and Central Africa & East Asia only
Podcast
-
What in the World
Helping you make sense of what’s happening in your world.