Three More Orcas Leave Russia's 'Whale Jail' To Be Released Into Wild

Three More Orcas Leave Russia's 'Whale Jail' to Be Released Into Wild

Three orcas who were rescued from the notorious "whale Jail" in Russia's Far East have started their journey toward the place of their release in the Khabarovsk Region, Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO), which is responsible for transporting the animals, told Sputnik on Thursday

VLADIVOSTOK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th July, 2019) Three orcas who were rescued from the notorious "whale Jail" in Russia's Far East have started their journey toward the place of their release in the Khabarovsk Region, Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO), which is responsible for transporting the animals, told Sputnik on Thursday.

The research institute said that the animals had been loaded into three trucks with the help of a crane.

"All three vehicles have left [the 'whale jail'] as part of a single convoy," VNIRO said.

The first two orcas and six belugas were set free by VNIRO into the Sea of Okhotsk on June 27.

All eight animals survived their transportation to the Khabarovsk Region, while experts feared that some of the mammals might die along the way.

The rest of the around 100 orcas and belugas are expected to be released back into their natural habitat by October.

After the story about orcas and belugas being held in deplorable conditions in Srednyaya Bay made headlines last fall, an investigation into the matter was launched. A local court later ruled that the sea mammals had been caught illegally. The companies responsible for the violation were reportedly fined a total of 150 million rubles ($2.4 million).