Olympus To Photograph The Journey Of 2 Beluga Whales To Open Water Sanctuary

The Sea Life Trust is relocating 2 Beluga whales from China to an open water whale sanctuary in Iceland and Olympus will be documenting the incredible journey. 

The complex journey will be shot by Olympus wildlife ambassador Tesni Ward, who will follow the belugas move from Changfeng Ocean World in Shanghai, China, via land, air and eventually by sea to the large sanctuary in a natural bay at Heimaey, one of the Westman Islands, located off the southern coast of Iceland.

British wildlife photographer Ward has been chosen to document the journey which will see the two beluga whales move to the world’s first open water sanctuary bay this summer. The bay, which measures 32,000 sqm with a depth of up to 10m has been chosen to provide a more natural sub-Arctic environment and wild habitat for these amazing whales to call home.

Andy Bool, Head of Sea Life Trust, said: ''We are delighted to be working with Olympus to document this amazing world-first moment. It’s so important to us that this journey is documented as the important and historic moment it is - providing a more natural home for Little White and Little Grey, its first inhabitants and as a better alternative for captive whales and dolphins everywhere. We already know Tesni has a love for wildlife but hopefully she will also capture the passion, devotion and hard work that has been put into this project.'

A huge number of people have been working for years to make this project a success and to ensure that Little Grey & Little White make the journey to their new home. We think the photos will play a huge part in telling that important story and with the generosity of Olympus all profits of the book produced will be going back to the SEA LIFE Trust to ensure we can provide Little Grey and Little White with the best possible care in the future.''

Anthony Newman, Global Brand Director, Sea Life (Merlin Entertainments) added: ''I couldn’t be prouder of the amazing work SEA LIFE Trust and Merlin Entertainments are doing to build the world’s first whale sanctuary. It’s fantastic that Olympus is partnering with us to photograph and document this unique and inspiring moment in history so that we can share it with the world.''

Olympus added: ''Olympus are extremely excited to be the exclusive imaging sponsor of the project and are working with our wildlife photography ambassador Tesni Ward to document the entire journey resulting in an exhibition at our London gallery to share this amazing story. Animal welfare is an extremely important issue not only to Olympus but also for Tesni and we look forward to sharing her imagery to depict the emotion and process in securing these animals into their new home in Iceland.''

Visit the Sea Life Trust website for more details.