Orcas are amazing animals. Scary, if you’re a seal or any other creature that orcas call prey, but beautiful in their ferocity and intelligence. The Frozen Planet 2 team headed out on a mission to capture the kind of footage worthy of the Frozen Planet series, and, despite the fact that they routinely collect footage that blows the world’s collective minds, even they were shocked at what they saw.
Gregory Tsidulko, a researcher aboard the vessel, was stunned when he saw a tagged orca swimming with a pod of wild ones. That tag, according to Tsidulko, means that the whale had been released from captivity.
“That means,” he said, “that despite all the arguments from the captive industry, orcas actually can be released and safely be returned into their natural environment and live a happy life where they belong.”
The whale in question was identified as a female that was previously living in a facility in Russia called the “Whale Jail.” The whale jail was a particularly disturbing holding pen for cetaceans.
When it was first discovered by a drone pilot flying over Russia’s Pacific coast, it was theorized that the animals were being held in order to sell them to Chinese theme parks. According to reports, though, after a particularly loud public outcry, the Whale Jail was dismantled and the whales were released.
No one, though, was sure what might happen to the animals, some of which had been born in captivity. And while it’s still not known what happened to all of them, the sight of at least one of them thriving in the wild is good news.
