Killer whales released from the Whale Prison migrate south. As EcoTourism Expert came to know, data from operating satellite tags indicate the onset of migration of killer whales from the Shantar region of the Sea of Okhotsk to the southern latitudes.
Scientists at the All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography report that they continue to monitor the killer whales and belugas released into the wild.
Some satellite tags installed on the animals at the time of release were still preserved, although many killer whales tore them off, apparently already being part of wild families.
One killer whale has already passed 1,800 km from the summer hunting area near the Shantar Islands and is now located south of Hokkaido. Another also moves in a southeast direction and now has approached the coast of the island of Paramushir of the Kuril ridge.
Beluga whales, released in 2019 in the Sakhalin Gulf migrate to the Shantar Islands to their traditional places in winter, scientists say. Beluga whales, released in November 2019 in the Sea of Japan near the Lazovsky Nature Reserve, dispersed along the coast of Primorye. Employees of tourist camps located near the place of release and volunteers of public environmental organizations saw them in groups of 6-8 individuals. Belugas were also spotted in the port of Nakhodka and even in the vicinity of Russky Island.
According to observations, once free, belugas move in groups and hunt independently. They don’t beg for contact with people.
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