Russia: Fourth batch of marine mammals begin journey for release from ‘whale jail’

W/S Whale being lifted from 'whale-jail', Srednyaya Bay
W/S Whale being lifted
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The last two orcas held in the so-called 'whale jail' in Srednyaya Bay began their journey to freedom along with six beluga whales, footage released on Thursday shows.
The marine mammals were lifted to trucks which are due to take them to Khabarovsk and further to Nikolayevsk-on-Amur, where the whales are set to be released into the wild.
Russia's Federal Agency for Fishery said it plans to release all of the orcas held in the Srednyaya Bay by September 1.
The whole relocation process of the 11 orcas and 87 beluga whales is expected to take approximately four months.
The first batch of two killer whales and six beluga whales was released into the Sea of Okhotsk on June 27. The second group of three killer whales was released on July 16, and the third group of orcas was set free on August 6.
The whales are believed to have been captured in the Sea of Okhotsk in 2018 and taken to enclosures in the Srednyaya Bay near the city of Nakhodka.