On 19 February, the world celebrates Whale Day, or Marine Mammal Protection Day, to remind us that even the strongest and most intelligent animals on earth need protection. It was established after the International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling on that day in 1986 following two centuries of hunting whales almost to extinction.

In recognition of World Whale Day, the Beluga – White Whale exhibition opened in the museum complex of Kurshskaya Kosa National Park. The exhibition, which runs through 23 February, is presented by the World Ocean Museum in Kaliningrad. Visitors can see photos by participants of Russia’s White Whale Programme and learn interesting facts about the white whale and its habitat, as well as the efforts to study and protect the species.

A major event was also organised in Moscow with the support of the Marine Mammal Council – the exhibition Our Neighbours: Walruses, Seals and Polar Bears, which runs from 10 February through 26 March at the State Darwin Museum. Fifty striking photographs of marine wildlife from the Arctic, Antarctica and Russia’s Far East are on display.

On 26 February, the exhibition will host a lecture at 6 pm by Anton Chernetsky, a researcher at the Shirshov Oceanology Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a member of the Marine Mammal Council. His talk on the life of the white whale will be accompanied by photos and recordings of their sounds.