Giant whale gets stuck in a river mouth in Russia’s Far East

Whale stuck in a river mouth / Sergey Dolya

Ever tried squeezing through a gap (or a tight pair of jeans) and getting stuck, realizing far too late that you are in fact way too big? Well, this Greenland right whale - or Russian whale to Americans - found itself caught between a rock and a hard place after getting jammed in a river mouth on Big Shantar Island, in Russia’s Khabarovsk Region.

Whale during the tide / Sergey Dolya

The river mouth is located in the Preserve Priamurye national park and workers there are desperately trying to get the whale back to the ocean. They are pumping water over the aquatic beast as it lies stranded with the belly of its 13 meter tall body beached on the riverbed.

The whale is so big that it simply isn’t able to turn around and escape. Experts say it may have swam to the river while trying to escape orcas (Killer whales).

Whale isn't able to turn around and escape / Sergey Dolya

It’s thought there are about 10,000 Greenland right whales (also known as Bowhead whales) in the wild, and about 400 live in the cold Arctic waters including the Sea of Okhotsk. They frequently come very close to the Shantar Islands, a protected area with a variety of rare animals from brown bears to sables and rare sea birds.

Let’s hope those working to save the big guy get him out very soon.

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