Beluga Whale Saves Distressed Free Diver August 24, 2010 by lukesheppard

It was reported recently that a Beluga Whale saved a free diver from drowning after sensing she was in distress. The diver, Yang Yun owes her life to Mila the Beluga Whale who is at Polar Land, Harbin in North East China. The 26-year-old fee diver was participating in a free diving contest without any scuba apparatus. The competition took place in a 20ft arctic pool where participants had to swim to the bottom and stay there for as long a possible. The large arctic tank was also home to Beluga Whales, one of which Spotted Yun who was struggling because her legs had paralysed with crippling cramps due to the cold temperatures of the water. Yang Yun said: “I began to choke and sank even lower, I thought that was it for me – I was dead. Until I felt this incredible force under me driving me to the surface.” Before organisers had even noticed, Mila was pushing Yang up by using her mouth to grab onto her leg. They were then watching in amazement at how the Beluga was using her sensitive, dolphin like nose to return the helpless diver to the surface of the water. Like Dolphins, Beluga Whales are known for their intelligence, sensitivity and playfulness with humans. These friendly creatures can reach up to 5 metres (15 feet) in length and are a beautiful white colour with a humped head. Beluga’s are loved for their amusing facial expressions which you don’t get from other whales and the have a friendly smile which makes them look harmless. Unlike other Wales, the Beluga can actually swim backwards. Unfortunately the numbers of the species are decreasing so the Beluga has been put on the endangered list. They’re usually found in very cold waters around Canada, Russia, Alaska and Greenland. The biggest threats towards the Beluga is hunting and pollution caused by humans which enters our rivers and then flows out to the sea.