The flight from Toronto to Valencia early this morning may have been the most challenging flight of the summer. It lasted 7 hours (19 if we count the entire journey), and the passengers were two belugas and four dolphins. The six females, rescued from Canada, have arrived safely at the Oceanogràfic in Valencia, as confirmed by the center itself. Cleopatra and Jelly Bean, the two belugas, and Tsunami, Lida, Echo, and Marina, the four dolphins, arrived in Valencia early Thursday morning after a complex transfer from Marineland in Canada.
The aircraft chartered for their transport, a Boeing 777 operated by Qatar Airways, allowed the cabin to be pressurized to prevent pulmonary or cerebral edema during the flight. During the nearly twenty-hour journey, the cetaceans were accompanied by three veterinarians and seven assistants.
Cleopatra, Jelly Bean, Tsunami, Lida, and Echo traveled in individual crates—mini-pools with built-in platforms that allow them to be transported while partially submerged—and the veterinary team had to sedate some of the dolphins that were experiencing muscle spasms.
“A new chapter is beginning,” says the Oceanogràfic. Over the next few weeks, the six animals will gradually become familiar with their new environment, accompanied at all times by the center’s staff, who will individually monitor their feeding, behavior, and social interactions. For this reason, they will remain in areas not visible to the public for the duration of their acclimatization process. “Welcome to Valencia,” the aquarium wrote on its official account, where images related to this news have been shared.
The move to Valencia is the fifth in a series of relocations aimed at gradually resettling the 30 belugas and four dolphins—whose fate seemed uncertain following the closure of the Canadian aquarium Marineland more than a year ago—to facilities around the world.
Behind this operation lie months of preparation and the collaborative efforts of veterinarians, keepers, specialists, aquariums, and institutions in Canada, the United States, and Spain, with the support of the Valencian Regional Government. The operation was coordinated by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and a consortium of aquariums comprising the Shedd Aquarium, the Georgia Aquarium, SeaWorld San Diego, SeaWorld Texas, the Mystic Aquarium, and the Oceanogràfic itself.
