List of the most popular hashtags for theme #BELUGAWHALES

Little Grey and Little White have arrived in Iceland! The two wild-caught beluga whales travelled over 6000 miles from China's Changfeng Ocean World in Shanghai to Iceland's Klettsvik Bay in the Westman Islands where they were released into a landside care facility that will serve as their new temporary home. The two females were initially doomed to a life of performing circus tricks at a Chinese marine park until a change of ownership sparked a twist of fate. Merlin Entertainment, a profound British-based company, purchased Changfeng Ocean World in 2012 and branded it as Sea Life Shanghai. While things remained unchanged for 5 years, Merlin Entertainment was urged to follow through with its strict policy against keeping whales and dolphins in captivity and, in 2017, decided to partner with Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) to retire Changfeng's belugas to a sea sanctuary. . Ever since then Little Grey and Little White have undergone a careful rehabilitation process which aimed to build their strength, thicken their blubber and increase the duration of their underwater dives; preparing them for their return to their natural environment. This vital training was kept simple but remained physically challenging for the belugas, involving tasks such as swimming fast laps of their pool and holding their breath for increasing periods of time. They have also started accepting fish underwater - something so simple but so abnormal for these captive whales who are usually fed at the surface with fish being placed directly into their mouths. . The two females, both 12 years old, will remain at the care facility for a 40-day quarantine period while they settle into their new surroundings. They will then embark on the final stage of their rehabilitation - release into their open water sanctuary! While they will never be released into the wild, both Little Grey and Little White will have the opportunity to live out the remainder of their lives in their natural habitat while still receiving husbandry and veterinary care from their trainers. . Caption: @inherentlywild Photos/videos: @belugawhalesanctuary

Happy Friday from Little Grey!

Cetacean captivity is officially banned in Canada! Bill S-203 was passed just this morning, prohibiting the capture, captivity, breeding, and importing/exporting of whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Currently, only two facilities in Canada hold cetaceans: • Vancouver Aquarium: 1 Pacific white-sided dolphin (Helen) • Marineland Ontario: 1 killer whale (Kiska), 5 bottlenose dolphins, 50+ belugas Both Kiska the orca and Helen the white-sided dolphin have been living in complete isolation away from any other members of their species—a truly sad existence for such socially complex animals. These animals were grandfathered into the system, but they will be the last. However, Bill S-203 does make exceptions for removing a cetacean from the wild and keeping it in captivity for the purpose of rescue and rehabilitation. The passing of this bill has been a work in progress since 2015 and we thank all who were involved to make this possible! United States, are you next? Caption: @sevenseasoffreedom Photo taken of a handful of Marineland’s many belugas, via Marineland.

Play time! Little White and Little Grey are really playful and soon Klettsvik Bay will become their new playground where they can deep dive up to 10 metres and fast swim as much as they like. #belugasanctuary #Belugawhales #Whalesofinstagram #Iceland #Whalesanctuary #naturehub #naturelover #marinelife #sealife #heimaey #helloheimaey

✅"Эковахта Сахалина" и Росрыболовство обжалуют в апелляционной инстанции решение Южно-Сахалинского городского суда, признавшего незаконным выдачу квот на вылов косаток и белух в 2018 году ⠀ В мае этого года Южно-Сахалинский городской суд частично удовлетворил требования РОО «Экологическая вахта Сахалина», СООО «Клуб Бумеранг», СООО «Друзья океана» и граждан по иску к Росрыболовству, Росприроднадзору и четырем компаниям - отловщикам морских млекопитающих и вынес решение о признании незаконными: ⠀ ➡️ решений Росрыболовства об утверждении планов работ по осуществлению рыболовства в культурно-просветительских целях; ⠀ ➡️ приказов Росрыболовства № 404 от 05.06.2018, № 455 от 02.07.2018, № 935 от 26.12.2017 о выделении квот на вылов 13 косаток и 90 белух компаниям ООО «Афалина», ООО «Белый Кит», ООО «Сочинский Дельфинарий», ООО «Океанариум ДВ». ⠀ Однако в части удовлетворения требования возложить на Росприроднадзор обязанность изъять животных и выпустить их в среду обитания суд отказал. 03.07.2019 истцы подали апелляционную жалобу на решение Южно-Сахалинского городского суда в этой части. ⠀ ◾️ В свою очередь, Росрыболовство подало апелляционную жалобу с требованиями об отмене судебного решения от 31.05.2019, оспаривая признание судом незаконными своих решений и приказов о выделении квот на вылов косаток и белух. ⠀ Обе апелляционные жалобы приняты судом к рассмотрению. Сторонам дан срок до 1 августа для представления возражений, после чего дело будет направлено в Сахалинский областной суд, которому закон отводит 2 месяца на рассмотрение жалоб. ⠀ ‍♀️ От компаний-отловщиков апелляции в рамках данного дела в Южно-Сахалинский городской суд не поступали. Остается только догадываться о том, почему коммерсанты не обжалуют решение суда, признавшее незаконными основные разрешительные документы, на основании которых они выловили косаток и белух в 2018 г. Возможно они просто согласны с судебным решением, а может быть полностью полагаются на Росрыболовство и выступают с ним в тесном партнерстве. ⠀ На сегодня из «китовой тюрьмы» выпущены в Охотское море 5 косаток и 6 белух. Еще 5 косаток и 81 белуха остаются пока в заточении. ⠀ #КитоваяТюрьма #freerussianwhales

JUST REPORTED - 3 killer whales are on their way back to the Sea of Okhotsk where they were illegally caught. VNIRO and the whaling company hired to return the killer whales have moved them by truck to Khabarovsk in containers of water. They have been unloaded into a barge at the Khaborovsky port. . Images and update provided by the volunteers of Khovahty Sakhalin: @sakhalinwatch . . The Whale Sanctuary Team has offered help but is not assisting with this effort to return these whales. You can read a letter written by Jean-Michel Cousteau to Mr. Shestakov on his twitter account that you can find on the Ocean Futures website. . . . #captivewhales #belugas #belugawhales #orca #orcas #whales #cetaceans #freethewhales #emptythetanks #emptythetanksworldwide #marinemammals #freethewhales #jeanmichelcousteau #oceanfuturessociety #russia #freerussianwhales #whitewhale #sealife #whalesanctuary #echolocation #whalelove #orcalove #beautifulworld #healthyplanet #marinelife #2transportationfromwhalejail #whalejail #whaleswithoutwalls #killerwhales #whalelove #whalelover #whalelovers

Today he'll be leaving for UK ✈ I'm very happy this baby beluga will live in the collection of amazing artist @gemmabyers_wildlifeart

Remember the beluga whale I posted a week ago? This same white whale suddenly appeared when a girl dropped her iPhone into the water, and retrieved it! Unfortunately this behaviour is thought to be associated with training under the care of humans. Therefore it may not be able to survive without being fed by humans. Lone belugas also need to fulfill the need for social companionship and interaction. That need is so strong that they come right up to boats, as they are attracted by sounds and by motors. This strange behaviour could ultimately pose a deadly risk ☹️ From what I’ve read they seem to be working on a potential evacuation plan. If I find out more I’ll post about it, also feel free to check out the post from a week ago if your curious about the matter. Video by @isa.opdahl #belugawhale #belugawhales #norway #ocean #sea #oceanlife #marinelife #marinebiology #news #insane #animals #animallover #wildlife #nature #naturelover #interaction

Russia: Dolphinarium “Sea Star” . Dolphinarium Sea Star’s selling point is not the uniqueness or diversity of the animals it houses but instead the numerous, and seemingly endless, ways it chooses to exploit them. While the dolphinarium showcases its daily theatrical performances, it also offers swim with dolphins sessions, dolphin therapy, photo opportunities and paintings by the dolphins themselves. Conditions for the numerous bottlenose dolphins and beluga whales the dolphinarium houses are horrific. Excluding those who perform in the shows, most of the dolphins and belugas live in small swimming pools designed for humans. These pools are barren, cramped and disgustingly shallow, no more than 1.5m in depth. Such conditions mean the dolphins and belugas residing in these tanks are unable to float upright without their tails touching or bending against the bottom of the tank. . A Russian trainer recently spoke out about swim-with programmes and dolphin therapy, explaining it can become a crushing routine for the dolphins who are forced to participate in session after session, doing the same daily routine over and over again until they themselves become sick. This is no life for any animal, let alone a highly intelligent one. What's most heart-breaking is how defeated these animals appear and how they take their misery out on each other, as seen in the fourth video. . Caption: @inherentlywild