Beluga Sanctuary News

ketoflukes

ketoflukes

Well-Known Member
(From 1/8/22) Belugas had their final health check before the move back to the bay. According to an Instagram post and comments made by the sanctuary, the whales are in good health and the move is scheduled to occur within the next few weeks.

Beluga Update
 
The Beluga Sanctuary has received and weighed the first puffling of the 2022 season from the local Puffling Patrol. The island of Vestmannaeyjar was once home to the largest puffin colony in Iceland, but the number of occupied burrows and fledged pufflings has reached an all time low this year. The Beluga Sanctuary takes in injured and ill puffins for rehabilitation and release, and also provides a permanent home to puffins who are deemed non-releasable.

First Puffling Weighed
 
Unfortunate news from the Beluga Sanctuary (24.8.22).
On the morning of August 14th, the Sanctuary's diving contractor boat sunk unexpectedly just hours before the belugas were scheduled to be moved, causing oil and fuel to leak into the bay where the sanctuary is located. Thankfully, no one was on board and both Little Grey and Little White, as well as the staff, are all safe. However, as a result, the move has now been postponed until Spring 2023 at the very least to give time for repairs.

Beluga Sanctuary's statement.

As tragic as this is, I'm so thankful that the whales are safe and sound and that this did not happen with anyone on the boat or with the whales already in the bay.
 
ketoflukes said:
Unfortunate news from the Beluga Sanctuary (24.8.22).
On the morning of August 14th, the Sanctuary's diving contractor boat sunk unexpectedly just hours before the belugas were scheduled to be moved, causing oil and fuel to leak into the bay where the sanctuary is located. Thankfully, no one was on board and both Little Grey and Little White, as well as the staff, are all safe. However, as a result, the move has now been postponed until Spring 2023 at the very least to give time for repairs.

Beluga Sanctuary's statement.

As tragic as this is, I'm so thankful that the whales are safe and sound and that this did not happen with anyone on the boat or with the whales already in the bay.
Click to expand...
What bad luck :(
 
Update Post (7.10.22) These are all of the more important news and updates that have been posted since my previous update to this thread:

29. September, 2022
47 pufflings have come through the Beluga Sanctuary puffin hospital in total this season. The pufflings are treated for injuries, oil spills, and other diseases and illnesses. Some pufflings are leaving their nests early and are thus being kept at the Sanctuary until they drop their down feathers and gain weight. When this post was made, 5 pufflings were in the Sanctuary's care and another 10 were being cared for at home by volunteers.

22. September, 2022:
Debris has successfully been removed from the bay and oil absorbing floats were installed after the sinking of the contractor boat. Tests reveal that no fuel remains in the water, however testing and cleaning will continue throughout the winter to ensure a completely safe environment for Little White and Little Grey to live in.

10. September, 2022
Little Grey and Little White remain in good health and the team continues to provide them with care and enrichment to prepare them for their Spring 2023 move back to the bay.

2. September, 2022
Small update from Audrey Pagett, GM of the Sanctuary, on how the cleanup is going.
 
Update Post (26.11.22). It's been fairly quiet since my last update so this post will be small.

23. November, 2022
The Sanctuary currently has one puffling from this years puffling season staying with the facility over winter. It has been given the name Steven and will stay at the facility until it will be released next puffin season.

18. November, 2022
Belugas' latest health check. Both girls remain in great condition and continue to acclimate for their move in Spring 2023.

31. October, 2022
Not an update per se, just a cute video featuring their resident guillemot Moli.
 
Have been more than three years since the Beluga Whales were transfered to Iceland. How many time had they spent on the bay? Few months, I think?
 
ZooElephantsMan said:
Why were they removed from the bay in December 2020?
Click to expand...
Little White, one of the two belugas, was not acclimating to the new environment at a pace the staff had anticipated. Since it was due for winter, the care team decided to return them both to the landside facility so that they would not have to face the harsh winter with unacclimated whales and also so that they could construct a ''middle step'' for Little White (and any future belugas that might need it). The middle step consists of a medium sized circular halo-like structure which fits in the middle of the bay pen.
 
Update Post (01.04.23). I will try to update this thread more regularly as we come closer to the belugas move back to the bay

30. March, 2023
A new Facebook post made by the sanctuary states that the belugas are to be moved ''in the coming weeks'', meaning that the move may possibly happen around late April to early/mid May.

6. March, 2023
Dr. Isabella Clegg, also known as the Dolphin Doctor, has returned to Iceland to conduct a welfare assessment on the belugas prior to their move. Dr. Clegg has been doing bi-annual welfare checks since the belugas were in Shanghai

19. February, 2023
Another beluga health update - both Little Grey and Little White remain in good health and have been working on recall, gating, and husbandry behaviors that will assist the whales once they move back out into the bay

17. February, 2023
Earlier in February, a cormorant was rescued by the sanctuary who was found by local children wrapped in a fishing net. He was kept in rehabilitation for three days before being released back into the wild

10. February, 2023
Little White and Little Grey participate in research that is helping develop a prototype tag that will be used in scientific studies to gather information on wild Narwhal populations

26. January, 2023
Audrey Pagett has retired as the general manager for the Beluga Sanctuary

18. January, 2023
Blue whiting and squid have been additionally added to the belugas' daily food intake to help them adjust to a more varied diet if they choose to hunt their own fish in the bay

5. January, 2023
The Beluga Sanctuary now has their own boat that they will use to commute to and from the sea pen in Klettsvík bay. Their other boat was loaned by a contractor but ended up sinking hours before the belugas were supposed to be moved to the bay last August, which set the move back by months
 
Update (19.4.23). Read here

The sanctuary has released a roadmap detailing the process of the beluga's acclimation into the bay for the next few years. Once they have spent this years summer in the bay, they will be brought inside for winter and returned to the bay again in spring 2024. This will be repeated each year and the time spent outdoors will be stretched further each summer until the belugas can confidently stay outside in the bay year round.

I must say, I appreciate the transparency that the sanctuary has regarding this process. However, I am a little concerned on how the belugas will handle the stress of transports back and forth between the bay and the landside facility up to 2x a year. I trust that they have the whales best interest at heart though and will be doing anything they can to address any possible issues that might arise. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
 
Great News! (28.4.32) :D

The belugas have finally been moved back into the sea pen in Klettsvík bay! The move has not been announced by the sanctuary at the time of this post (I assume to avoid crowding), but local news outlets reported the move happened this morning with one beluga transferred out and the second following shortly after, all occurring about an hour or two ago. I can also confirm this myself as I watched the transfer of the second whale on the islands live harbor cams. More updates to follow!

Read More (needs translating).
 
I watched WDC's webinar on captivity yesterday, and the beluga sanctuary was brought up.

They said, LG adapted to the Bay well, but as previously mentioned, LW, is a naturally nervous and timid whale and takes a long time to adapt to any changes (similar to Lolita/Tokitae the killer whale). They were moved back inside when LW struggled and LG was moved with her for companion's sake, not because he wasn't doing well either.

They said SeaLife had installed a wave machine and rain simulators indoors to help LW adapt to outdoor conditions at her own pace. She is improving and becoming more comfortable with everything. They said the whales were on track to be in the Bay full time within the next two years.

As Ketoflukes said, I appreciate the transparency and honesty. They said the beluga came to the sanctuary sick and had spent most of their lives in a tank, so the SeaLife staff had anticipated and planned for adaptation issues.

I think I would be less critical of the Whale Sanctuary Project if they had also included contingency plans for an indoor tank in case of animals that also struggle to adapt to a seapen.
 
Is nice of them that transparency, but even if one of the whales adapted well to the life on the seapen, I can´t avoid to think all this experience is being a failure. Those whales moved to Iceland five years ago, if I remember correctly. A lot of money and effort have been spend on them, and the result is that they are still living on a small indoor pool. I think it would have been much better for them to be moved to another place, with more belugas, that also would have improved their life conditions, but without so much stress.
 
It's the first true long-term cetacean sanctuary. I can forgive a few issues and they are learning.

I agree that all captive belugas should be held in large numbers. If there were more whales at the sanctuary, it would go a long way in making LW feel more secure. I also worry about what will happen if one of them dies. In that case I would support a move back to an aquarium. Companionship is the most important thing for cetaceans. It trumps everything else.
 
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