In early October, the story of the four marine mammals spread throughout Russia. The fate of the Red Book animals seemed to be watched by all the inhabitants of the country. Regional Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Lebedev told RIA Novosti that a group of orcas had been captured near the village of Ustievoye in the Sobolevo district.
The exhausted animals, stuck in shallow water in the estuary, were discovered by local residents Gennady Kiselyov and Alexey Velichko. When they saw that the orcas were in danger of dying, they called for reinforcements. And just a few hours later, about 30 people gathered around the orcas, the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported. Among those who responded to the call were employees of the local GIMS branch, firefighters, volunteers and the local administration.
‘Four orcas, two adults and two juveniles, entered the estuary. Now the guys from GIMS have arrived, they have brought two pumps and we will water them. We ask all the volunteers to join our group, we need them to last a day, we are waiting for the tide," Andrei Vorovsky, the head of the Sobolevsky district, recorded such an appeal for everyone in the first minutes of the rescue operation.
There was absolutely no way to remove the orcas on their own to deep water. The bottom of the estuary is covered with silt, the equipment could not pass there. And because of the heavy weight, it is impossible to move marine life, you can severely injure the orcas. The only way humans could help marine mammals was to pour water on them without stopping.
"Subsequently, for three days, up to 70 people took part in the events with varying frequency - residents of the villages of Ustyovoye and Sobolevo, employees of nearby factories, employees of services and the district administration," recalls Andrei Vorovsky.
The way the smallest member of the pack cried was heartbreaking. And the caring kamchadals did not leave the kids and their mothers a single step.
According to the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the staff of the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, the Vladivostok Aquarium, as well as the veterinarian of the Aquarium gave their recommendations on how to properly water animals. It turned out that it was impossible to simply water the animals from pumps, the water could block the blowhole, which would make them unable to breathe.
So people spent almost the whole day in the water. It was hoped that with the coming of the tide, the killer whales would go out to sea, but unfortunately, on the first day they were able to move closer to the open water by only two kilometers. There are still about 1.8 kilometers to go to sea. But an insidious low tide once again denied the orcas the opportunity to return home. At the same time, the animals only got worse from hunger, and their skin began to dry out.
A day later, rescuers from the Kamchatka Rescue Center of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations arrived in the Sobolevsky district, although for a different reason. By that time, among other things, the Bolshaya Vorovskaya River began to overflow its banks and drown the village of Sobolevo. The rescuers had the task, if necessary, to provide assistance to local residents. Some of the staff of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations remained in the village, the rest went to help the orcas.
And now the long-awaited tide has come. But, the orcas did not swim away. During their stay on the shore, the small flock became disoriented and simply could not find a way out and swim away. At the same time, the animals did not want to leave their mother, who, for unknown reasons, found it somewhat more difficult than the others.
The situation changed only three days after the orcas were captured. Representatives of GIMS and the administration tried to drive them away with boats. At the same time, rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, together with volunteers, guided the animals to a deeper place with their hands for several hours. When the water depth was sufficient for the animals to swim safely, there was about a kilometer left before leaving the estuary. And a miracle happened! The orcas were able to swim out to sea.
The photos and videos are presented by Andrey Vorovsky and the press service of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.
List of participants (main) of the rescue operation:
(The list is incomplete, as more than 70 people took part in the operation).
State inspectors for small vessels of the Sobolevsky inspection section of the State Inspection of Small Vessels of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in the Kamchatka Territory: Chinkandor Andrey Leonidovich, Safrygin Vadim Nikolaevich
Helmsman of the patrol boat of the Sobolevsky inspection section of the State Inspection of Small Vessels of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in the Kamchatka Territory: Y. Maxim Olegovich
Employees of the Kamchatka Rescue Center of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations: Alexander E. Borisov, engineer of the group of unmanned aerial vehicles and robotic equipment of the Kamchatka Rescue Center of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia, Nikolay N. Naumov, rescue driver of the Kamchatka Rescue Center of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia, Alexander A. Shemelin, commander of the second rescue company of the Kamchatka Rescue Center of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia.
VOLUNTEERS: Vorovsky Andrey Viktorovich, Head of the Sobolevsky district. He personally led the entire rescue operation for all three days; Kutaev Evgeny Arkadyevich, Senior operational duty officer of the Police Department of the Sobolevsky district Department of Internal Affairs, a resident of the village of Sobolevo; Kiselyov Gennady Gennadyevich, a volunteer, a resident of the village of Ustyovo; Velichko Alexey Evgenyevich, a bulldozer driver of Vityaz-Avto LLC, a resident of the village of Ustyovo.