About 2000 belugas on the Chukchi Peninsula were once saved with the help of classical music. They still remember this amazing story that took place in 1985.
At that time, local residents noticed a huge pod of belugas. Soon it became clear that a massive (4-kilometer!) ice block had blocked their way back to the sea. The animals could not overcome it in one breath, and there was nowhere to surface along the way. They were trapped.
In Russia, the largest and most powerful icebreaker of its kind, the "Moscow," equipped with a diesel-electric power plant, had just appeared.
When it arrived at the scene, it seemed that all was lost. But the crew, moved by the sight of the dying whales, decided to take action — to navigate through the ice and drop fish to the whales from a helicopter. When the vessel broke through the ice to the belugas, unfortunately, the tired and injured animals did not move from their spot, and they could not be persuaded to follow back to open water.
A crew member made an unusual suggestion — that music could influence the rescue operation, as whales respond to melodies. Various melodies began to resonate from the speakers of the "Moscow" over the icy expanses. It turned out that classical music was the most effective — the belugas gradually began to approach its source.
Thus, like the Pied Piper from the famous tale, the icebreaker led about two thousand animals back to their native element. Kindness, resourcefulness, and artistry once again saved lives!
