The Russian invasion of Ukraine left two very unique war refugees in Spain, Plombir and Miranda, two Ukrainian belugas that had to be evacuated from the Nemo aquarium in Kharkiv, in the east of the Donbass region, due to the danger they faced.
The two belugas (Dolphinapter leuca), now in the recovery and adaptation phase in the swimming pools of the Oceanogràfic of Valenciawere the protagonists of a rescue that attracted worldwide attention in June of this year due to the complexity of the transfer.
A 4,000 kilometer journey
They shared the spotlight with their rescuers, members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Oceanogràfic, the Georgia Aquarium and the SeaWorld organization, the world’s best team of marine mammal expertsto save them by traveling 4,000 kilometers by land and air between Kharkiv and Valencia.
Three months after this complicated logistical operation in which he participated Andrea Ortolabeluga keeper at the Oceanogràfic, tells us in this interview this unusual story of Plombir and Miranda.
We will find out how they are doing, how they are recovering and the surprising discovery that has to do with in their way of communicating which makes one think that they do not speak their language.
OKGREEN: Before knowing more about this rescue operation, how are Plombir and Miranda doing after these almost three months at the Oceanogràfic in Valencia?
Andrea Ortola: Well, the truth is that they are very good. They adapt very well to their new facilities and little by little they gain more trust with us, more relationship, which in the end is the most important thing to be able to take care of these animals.
Q: We know it was a complicated rescue, but what excited the whole team the most about this incredible story?
A: Ultimately, it was very exciting to know that we were going to be able to welcome these two magnificent animals, because they were in very critical and dangerous conditions.
So, for us it was a joy to be able to offer them a new home, a new family and that very soon they will be part of the Oceanogràfic. Well, they are now part of the Oceanogràfic family.
Q: Were you directly involved in the rescue of Plombir and Miranda?
A: Yes, I participated directly. Two of my managers followed them and I participated directly in the transfer from Valencia airport to the Oceanogràfic.
Q: Why did they have to be removed from there?
A: Well, look, they were at the front, in the park that was being targeted and bombed in its vicinity. So it was very important to get them out of there because you don’t know if there might be a bombing or anything and in the end, they would die because they had nowhere to go.
Q: I imagine that this rescue itself, the transfer itself, must have been complicated because these are aquatic animals… How did the rescue go?
A: Of course, logistically it was a very complicated rescue. It was with the help of the Georgia Aquarium and SeaWorld, who also helped us with the Oceanogràfic.
Then they all set to work to come up with a plan. The rescue was done by truck overland to a park in the south, in Odessa. There they saw that the animals were fine and could continue the journey. So they went to the border of Moldova and took a plane that took them to Valencia.
Q: How were the first days after your arrival in Valencia?
A: The truth is that it was surprising, because with Plombir the integration went very well. He immediately integrated very well, started eating right away. It took Miranda a little while. After a few days, he adapted to us and started eating.
So we continued the adaptation process because they only lived in a pool. Here they coexist with other species of fish, other belugas, there are more ponds. So we are in this adaptation process.
Q: What condition did they arrive in?
A: They arrived skinny, and now they have gained a lot of weight. You can see that they have gained health. They arrived very well because we were able to do all the veterinary checks, blood tests, gastric juices. And they were very healthy. The truth is that we are very happy.
Q: Once we arrive in Valencia, what is the acclimatization plan?
A: Well, little by little. Thanks to the fact that a keeper and a veterinarian from the Odessa park also came to accompany us, because in the end we did not know the animals and they helped us to know them, to create this relationship with them, to be able to have this bond.
This bond is very important to carry out the monthly veterinary routines and for this we need trust. Also learning sessions, so that they adapt to their new home, creating an enrichment plan that, in the end, is a very important element of animal welfare. Little by little, this is how your daily life becomes.
Q: Why was your Valencia centre chosen?
A: Well, in the end, I think all the conditions were met in terms of space and management possibilities and they came to us.
Q: It seems that they are learning their language, that they arrived in Valencia knowing how to communicate with dolphins rather than with those of their own species….
A: Well, that was quite a discovery by Audra Ames, who is the doctor leading this research. She had already been conducting previous research when Kylu was born on the communication vocalizations between belugas.
So when they arrived, he continued his investigation by turning on the hydrophones and began to hear that they were speaking differently. Now, we are still discovering, because we do not know if Plombir and Miranda, who speak another language dolphinand Yulka and Kylu speak the Beluga.
Now that they have been here for a few months, we will see if they adapt to the way they communicate with each other and if they all come to speak the same language, let’s say, or each one continues to speak his own, but that will be known in a few months, or even a year.
Q: Could it be because they were born in contact with more dolphins than belugas?
A: Of course, in the end they lived with the dolphins, so they adapted to this communication and it is suspected that this is why they speak this language.
Q: Plombir and Miranda are now fifteen and fourteen years old. What do you think the future holds for them? Is this what you should be thinking and talking about? In other words, in the future, they would return to Ukraine if everything were normalized?
A: We don’t know, in principle they will be here, they will be part of our family and we will include them with Yulka and Kylu, so that they are part of everyone, of the family, so that they also participate in the whole conservation project that is in the Oceanogràfic.
