Belugas freed from captivity reach world's first whale sanctuary

Two beluga whales have landed safely in Iceland, where they will live out their days in a whale sanctuary.

The pair, Little Grey and Little White, who had spent years in captivity as performers at the Changfeng Ocean World in Shanghai, were flown to the other side of the world in specially made slings and containers that were designed to their exact physical requirements.

The two 12-year-old female whales journeyed 9,223 kilometers, including the flight from Shanghai Pudong International Airport to Iceland's Keflavik International Airport and trips by truck and ferry, to end up at their new home in a natural bay on Heimaey, one of the Westman Islands, located off the southern coast of Iceland. They arrived on Wednesday.