Naturally, Direct Line couldn't shy away from one of the most resonating issues in these recent months: the fate of the whale jail in Srednyaya Bay in Primorsky Krai where they have kept almost 100 white whales and killer whales. This issue is under the special control of Vladimir Putin, who ordered to urgently resolve the situation back in October. Simultaneously with Direct Line, the operation started to return the marine mammals to their natural habitat.
Our correspondent Olga Armyakova is watching every stage of the process. This picturesque bay on the shore of the Sea of Japan contains the notorious whale jail. Meanwhile, it's very hard to even find on the map: it's so quiet and cozy—an ideal place to keep white and killer whales in captivity for almost a year. Those swimming cages are occupied by the tiniest whales; they're extremely curious and playful, they're watching us all the time. Those are white whales or Arctic whales. For them to return to their natural habitat, they need to learn once again how to hunt. Otherwise, they won't be able to survive, as, for all of this time, they've been fed by humans. Now, they're in for a big voyage. This news has already spread all over the world, while it was first declared during Direct Line. And, perhaps, by coincidence, or because of some accelerating effect of the big conversation with the president, the large-scale special operation to rescue the whales started upon the arrival of our film crew.
Vladimir Putin: "This problem is well-known. And, overall, it's clear why the difficulties occur. The killer whales alone, as far as I imagine, cost around $100 million. Therefore there is a great number of "those interested." Therefore, it's not so easy to solve this issue. It's always difficult to solve issues with big money involved. But, thank God, something has shifted".
Each second of this event will become history since nothing like this has ever happened in the world. Therefore, the tension is immense. One by one, trucks pass the gates, a crane truck is driven to the pier, and the whales are transferred into special containers out of the water. The long-awaited journey back home starts for the white and killer whales starts in an automobile. This truck will carry several transportation baths: that's the name of temporary containers where the animals will spend several days. They will be freed where they were once caught, in the proximity of the Shantar Islands in the Sea of Okhotsk. It's a long way to go: almost 1100 miles.
- You're delivering a precious cargo, how are you going to drive?
- Carefully.
- What about the speed?
- Very carefully. I'll keep the speed within 25 miles per hour.
So, almost 20 hours later, the road-train entered Khabarovsk. Then, there's a sea trip to Nikolayevsk-on-Amur, and onto the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk. The entire journey will take about six days.
Vyacheslav Bizikov, researcher: "There will always be two people tending to the animals in the transportation baths. They'll be controlling their condition. They'll be there around-the-clock, working in shifts".
Here's another important detail. They'll be freeing the white and killer whales stage by stage, in small groups. But marine biologists are confident that families will recognize their children once they return.
Vladimir Rakov, biologist: "Mammals regularly migrate along the same routes. White and killer whales are very social animals. They communicate with each other. In the water, sound spreads over dozens of miles. Parents can even come to their babies' call".
This moment, of course, is bound to become a happy ending. But the most important thing now is preventing the whale jail from happening ever again. That's why catching the mammals for so-called education purposes will be banned.
Olga Armyakova, Konstantin Morozov, Pyotr Ravnov, Alexander Antonov, Semyon Shapchenko, and Nikita Fomkin, Vesti: News of the Week, Primorsky Krai.
