White whales and orcas from Srednyaya Bay in the Primorye Territory were transported by boat along the Amur River to the village of Innokentyevka in the Khabarovsk Territory. From there the whales will be moved to the site of their release into the sea by road, according to the Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography.

The marine mammals travelled along the Amur River for about three days.

“The process of unloading of the animals from the ship has begun in the village of Innokentyevka. At the same time, the water is being changed. During the next leg of the journey, lorries will carry the whales to the area of Cape Perovsky, where there are special enclosures for rehabilitating the mammals before their release,” the statement says.

According to the experts, the white whales and orcas were transported by lorry to the site of their release to avoid motion sickness. Moving the whales by sea would most likely have made them feel motion sick, which could have caused them to lose control of the opening and closing of their spiracle, resulting in water entering the lungs.