Little Grey and Little White Beluga Whales Moved Safely in New Sanctuary Care Area

The SEA LIFE Trust has confirmed that two beluga whales, Little Grey and Little White, are now safely in their new sea sanctuary care area at Klettsvik Bay in Iceland. 

The two Beluga whales had been transported by Cargolux from China to Iceland in a collaboration with SEALIFE Trust in Spring last year.

The moving of the whales into the world’s first open water sanctuary for belugas, was completed on Friday 7 August at 12:30 Icelandic time. Little Grey and Little White are now in their bayside care pool and will need a short period of time to acclimatise to their new natural environment and all the outdoor elements before their final release into the wider sanctuary in Klettsvik Bay in the Westman Islands off the south coast of Iceland. 

The whales were safely transferred from the landside care facility in specially designed slings with custom foam matting for cushioning during transportation using a truck and the harbour’s tugboat. The time period in the care pools will be determined by the whales’ health and well-being with a 24-hour watch for a period of time before the whales are assessed to be released into their new home, Klettsvik Bay, which measures approximately 32,000 sqm with a depth of up to 10m.

The expert team and the independent vets were with Little Grey and Little White throughout the move and said they are healthy and are feeding well after the short trip from their landside care facility back to the sea. 

This is the first time Little Grey and Little White have been in the sea since they were taken from a Russian whale research centre in 2011. Little Grey and Little White will now be assessed around the clock as they get used to being back in the ocean environment. 

Andy Bool, Head of SEA LIFE Trust, said “We’re absolutely delighted to be able to share the news that Little Grey and Little White are safely in their sea sanctuary care pools and are just one step away from being released into their open water home. Following extensive planning and rehearsals, the first stage of their release back to the ocean was as smooth as we had hoped and planned for. We are carefully monitoring Little Grey and Little White with our expert care team and veterinarians and hope to announce their final release very soon.”

The Sanctuary, operated by charity the SEA LIFE Trust and which is the first of its kind, was built with the support of a generous donation from Merlin Entertainments. Created in partnership with Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), the SEA LIFE TRUST Beluga Whale Sanctuary is one of the biggest developments in captive whale and dolphin care and protection in decades and the first of its kind to be created for cetaceans