The Origin of Weird: Operation Beluga

Welcome And Hot Weather Rant

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Oh, hey there.

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Oh, hey there.

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We are the History Buffoons. I'm Kate of Bradley.

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And this is the origin of weird.

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We'll never find it. But we're looking.

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We are gonna go back to the Cold War today.

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I wish it was cold. I know you do. Holy fuck. It's hot.

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It's hot and smoky.

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Thanks, Canada.

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Fuckers. Stop.

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What? They could have put it out.

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I don't know what the situation is up there.

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I have no idea. Yeah. You told me Wednesday? Was it Wednesday?

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It was Wednesday.

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Whatever day you told me, I'm like, there's fires in Canada?

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I know. I didn't know either.

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I had no idea. You know why? Because I'm not in Canada. I'm in the United States of the fucking American. God damn it, we're good.

The Chukchi Sea Setting

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So our story begins in a remote place on Earth, a stretch of Arctic water known as the Chukchi Sea. It's Russian. Sorry. Chukchi Sea.

SPEAKER_01 1:31

I had a feeling it was Russian because we're in the Cold War and you know it was against them.

SPEAKER_02 1:37

But um so it is located between Alaska, like if you look at Alaska, you've got Nome right at the northern tip, right? I mean, based on just a a map that we would see, a flat map, obviously. But it's the Arctic Circle, right? It would be to the west of that. But like on top of the globe, I'm gonna keep talking I'm gonna stop talking.

SPEAKER_01 2:05

That was the weirdest description of like a map slash globe thing ever that I was a part of or ever will hear in my life.

SPEAKER_02 2:13

It's not like this, it's not the string of little islands off of Alaska.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

So you mean the peninsula?

SPEAKER_02 2:19

Yeah, it's not that.

SPEAKER_01 2:20

What what's the name of that again? That's it's got a specific name.

SPEAKER_02 2:23

Um, there's the Bering Sea right there, and I only know that because of Deadliest Catch TV show.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

The Bering Strait.

SPEAKER_02 2:30

Yeah. Okay, so this is the Chukchi Sea.

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Damn right it is.

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So it is located between Alaska and the eastern edge of Russia, and the region spends much of the year covered under ice, right?

SPEAKER_01 2:42

Well, yeah, it's really far fucking north.

SPEAKER_02 2:45

Yeah. So I'm sure it's breathtakingly beautiful from a distance, but it's gonna be completely brutal and unforgiving up front, right?

SPEAKER_01 2:54

So what what does this have to do with the cold war, just besides it's cold up there? It's just time frame.

SPEAKER_02 3:00

It's just the time. Just the time.

SPEAKER_01 3:04

Okay, fair enough.

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So for the animals that live there, survival depends on timing and luck, right?

SPEAKER_01 3:12

Sounds like normal life.

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So every year, yeah, beluga whales move through Arctic waters following food, navigating changing ice conditions, and taking advantage of the brief periods when the region becomes a little bit more hospitable.

SPEAKER_01 3:29

What do beluga's eat?

SPEAKER_02 3:31

Um, they eat a lot of fish.

SPEAKER_01 3:33

Do they? Yes. Like full on fish, not like shrimp or little little yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:40

Gotcha. Yeah.

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Just curious. I had no idea.

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Yeah. Um, and they've been doing this for thousands of years, right?

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Well, yeah.

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Most years the migration passes without incident. The fall of 1984.

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Okay, during the Cold War, uh-huh, which ends in 1991.

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Uh-huh. Um, was not gonna be one of those years that where the migration passed without incident.

SPEAKER_01 4:06

Okay. We're specifically like concentrating on the beluga's, is that correct? We are. Okay. And so I I don't know why, but every time I say beluga, it makes me think of the Oscar Meyer. My beluga's got a first name. I I know it's baloney has a first name. Oh, really? I don't know why.

SPEAKER_02 4:26

I always say baby beluga, and then I don't know what else happens after that. Baby baloo. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:33

What is that from?

SPEAKER_02 4:34

I don't

How The Belugas Get Trapped

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know.

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Good, because I'm glad you can't finish it.

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Somewhere off the coast of the Chuk Chi Peninsula, a large population of beluga whales remained in an area that would soon become trapped beneath expanding sea ice.

SPEAKER_00 4:48

Oh boy.

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At first, there's no obvious reason for concern. Beluogas are among the most ice-adapted marine mammals in the world.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

But they still need to come up for air. They do. So, I mean, that's not a good thing.

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Yes. They but they also navigate frozen waters as a part of life in the Arctic.

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Could you imagine having to navigate frozen waters just to live? No. I mean, I like cold, but damn.

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So the problem was not that the whales were surrounded by ice, but it was how quickly the ice was changing.

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Right? Like it's clothes or yes. It's like I I don't want to wear this frock today.

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The whales had chased a large group of cod into this I'm so sorry, these are all Russian names. Um Senyovin. Senyavin Strait.

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Okay.

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And that separates an island from the Chuk Chukchi Peninsula. For those who know where that is. It is in the northeasternmost corner of the Soviet Union and about 130 miles from mainland Alaska.

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Okay.

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Okay. So they followed all this cotton into the strait. And the strait is between the island and a peninsula.

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Right.

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So landlocked on two sides, right?

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Right. That's why it's a strait.

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Yes. So as autumn gave way to winter, open water began disappearing. Areas that had once provided easy access to the surface near narrowed into channels. Channels became mere openings, and openings became isolated breathing holes. So before long, thousands of whales found themselves crowded into this strait with very few ways out.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

So do beluga whales like it's not like a herd. I mean, I don't know what you call it, but a pod? Sure. Either whatever it's called, like, do they all they keep in groups, I guess?

SPEAKER_02 6:59

Maybe not to that extent, but they are going up there to migrate. So I suppose, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:04

Okay, fair enough.

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So at that point, the Arctic had begun making decisions for the whales. And it's this way. Yes, exactly. So the whales were managing just fine. Uh fine. Beluga's aren't fragile mammals, right? They spend their entire lives in the harshest environments on Earth.

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Sure.

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So they know how to navigate around it, they know how to find the breathing holes, and they can adapt to the changing environment. Okay. At first, there was no obvious reason to believe that this situation would be any different, but the ice kept growing. As winter settled over the that is so hard to say. The open water available to the whales began to shrink. Areas that had been easy to move through only weeks earlier were closing up, and before long, thousands of beluga were gathering around a relatively small number of breathing holes.

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Oh boy.

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So that was when the situation started to become a little dangerous. Sure. Like every whale, beluga needed air, and no matter how comfortable they are in the icy water, they still have to surface regularly to breathe.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

Did you come across any kind of like how how long can they stay underwater?

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Yes.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

Oh, that's it.

SPEAKER_02 8:24

Yeah, but they can go up to, I saw the max at 30 minutes.

SPEAKER_01 8:30

That's I guess that's not a lot. No, that's not a lot at all. No. I guess I never realized it was that small of a window. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 8:38

So if they have to go deeper into the waters, they do about 10 to 20 minutes. But like I said, the max I've seen is 30.

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If they can avoid it though, obviously. So yeah, okay.

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So as long as there are enough openings in the ice, that isn't a problem. One of those open it once those openings become scarce, however, every trip to the surface becomes more and more important.

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Right.

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And all these thousands of whales are now competing for the same spots.

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Well, and you know, survival of the fittest at that point.

Hunters Help And Polar Bears Wait

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So the first people to realize something was wrong were local Chukchi hunters in the Senivin Strait area. That's the where they are, Senyavin Strait. So beluga's were an important food source for these hunters. Oh, really? Mm-hmm. And the hunters knew the local waters pretty intimately. Sure. They noticed unusually large numbers of whales crowding around small patches of open water and quickly realized that the animals were trapped by the expanding ice. So the hunters had some mixed reactions. On one hand, thousands of beluga's concentrated in one area was like an enormous source of food. Exactly. So on the other hand, they understood that if the entire group died, it would be disastrous in the long run.

SPEAKER_01 9:54

Well, yeah, it's good short term, but long term, it's fucking terrible for them.

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So many accounts describe local residents helping keep breathing holes open and feeding the whales frozen fish while authorities were being notified. Okay. Isn't that cool? So I'm just gonna go feed my beluga.

SPEAKER_01 10:15

What do you think they named it?

SPEAKER_02 10:17

Ooh, ooh, okay. Um Bolshevik beluga.

SPEAKER_01 10:21

Bolshevik! I got food. Vladka. Vladka. So like I would imagine they have to go with like their uh I just picture pickaxes and torches, but like get the the ice that's kind of forming. They move the slush away.

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Right, right. So there was another problem that was happening.

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This is Russia. Polar bears. Oh shit.

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Now, if you're a polar bear trying to survive an Arctic winter, finding food is not easy.

SPEAKER_01 10:52

No, that's why they're hopping on those little ice flows and shit, and they're like, ooh, people. That looks tasty.

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So most hunting involves a lot of waiting, a lot of patience, and luck, basically. And the trapped whales had unintentionally made things much simpler for the polar bears.

SPEAKER_01 11:12

So do polar bears go after beluga whales?

SPEAKER_02 11:14

They do.

SPEAKER_01 11:15

I that's wild.

SPEAKER_02 11:16

I didn't know that until I read the story. I thought it was just like seals and penguins, but but it's a food source and it's available to them, so why not?

SPEAKER_01 11:25

Are penguins up there? I thought they were in this like the Antarctic.

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We're gonna say yeah, they are.

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Okay. So are snowmen.

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Yes.

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Okay.

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And I heard Santa Claus is up there too.

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Well, that's the North Pole, not fucking Russia. Jesus.

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So because the beluga's were limited to specific breathing holes, the bears knew exactly where they would have to surface.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

Well, yeah.

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So some reports from the time describe polar bears waiting near those openings and taking advantage of the situation where whenever they could. Jesus. So they weren't the whales weren't just dealing with the shrinking air holes anymore. Now it was like an ambush every time they went to the surface.

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Well, yeah.

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So conditions would likely get worse before it got better. The whales were already confined to a relatively small area. Predators were taking advantage of the situation, and every week that passed reduced their chances of survival.

SPEAKER_00 12:21

Right.

A Rescue Problem At Massive Scale

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So something had to be done. The problem was figuring out what that something should be. So rescuing a stranded animal is one thing. Rescuing about 2,000 whales trapped beneath Arctic ice is something else entirely.

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Right.

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The nearest open water was about 15 miles away. Between the whales and safety lay the thick ice that ordinary ships cannot push through.

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Did they have to get one of those icebreaker ships?

SPEAKER_02 12:51

Yes, they did. So even reaching the animals would require specialized equipment. Creating a path out for them would require something more impressive. And there was another issue that nobody could answer ahead of time. Um, once they broke in the ice into a channel, how were they gonna get 2,000 whales to follow them? Here, whaley, whaley, whaley. Yeah, exactly. So eventually, Soviet officials decided that if they were gonna attempt a rescue, they would need to go

The Icebreaker Moskova Arrives

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big. So fortunately for the whales, the Soviet Union happened to have a ship designed for exactly these weather conditions.

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Sure.

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The icebreaker called Moskova.

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Moskova.

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The Moskova was built especially to operate in places where most vessels wouldn't stand even a remote of a chance. Oh, sure. When people hear the word icebreaker, they often often picture like a reinforced shift ship slicing through the frozen water. Yeah. Um, but it's a lot less graceful than that. I'm sure an icebreaker uses its weight to climb up onto the ice and then crush it beneath the hole. I didn't know that either.

SPEAKER_01 14:04

I actually knew that.

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Yeah. So then it moves forward and does it again and again and again.

SPEAKER_01 14:09

Yep. So well, because if you think about it, it's really just at the surface, because that's where the air and the water meet, and that's where the cold is and so on. Not that the water's not cold, and I'd that's why ice when it freezes goes down, down, down. That's when it gets thicker, of course. But um, yeah, it's just wild how you think of like a whale breaching the water and then it's a little bit more.

SPEAKER_02 14:30

Yeah, that's exactly what the ship does. Yeah, exactly. So um, what made Moscova one of the few ships capable of reaching um the trapped beluga was how it did this like ice breaking thing. So once the decision was made, the vessel headed toward the Ch Chick Check Chick Sea. Uh-huh. That's right.

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Russia.

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Um, so reach the whales, break a path through the ice, lead them to open water.

SPEAKER_01 14:58

How did the ship not hit the whales? Because they're all trying to get that air, so they're closer to the surface.

SPEAKER_02 15:07

Yeah. I didn't come across anything. Okay. So the whales were first spotted in late December of eight 1984. The Moscova was called in during February of 1985.

SPEAKER_01 15:20

Oh, so almost three months later.

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It took the icebreaker several days to reach the trapped whales. Yeah. And then apparently the icebreaker was also being led by like a spotter plane.

SPEAKER_01 15:34

Oh, yeah. Okay.

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So when the Moscova arrived and began creating channels through the ice, the crew quickly discovered that breaking the ice was only half the battle. They still the whales still had to follow the ship out, right?

SPEAKER_01 15:47

Yep. They put a carrot on a stick.

SPEAKER_02 15:49

And Balukas weren't exactly interested in following what the Russians had to say.

SPEAKER_01 15:54

So it's maybe they spoke English and didn't understand Russian.

SPEAKER_02 15:59

So some of the whales would start moving through the channel, but then turn around. They stay close to the breathing holes that they already knew.

SPEAKER_01 16:06

Sure.

SPEAKER_02 16:06

From the whales' perspective, those were the safe spots.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

Yeah, because they didn't know better. Yeah, exactly. They're fucking whales.

SPEAKER_02 16:13

Exactly. And they couldn't see where open water was, where they were. So despite all the effort involved in creating an escape route, many of the whales seemed heavitant to leave what was familiar.

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Hesitant.

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Hesitant.

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There it is.

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The crew of the Muscova had solved the engineering problem. Now they had a the whale problem. So, like many famous stories, this

The Hard Part Getting Whales To Follow

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rescue has been told many times over over the years that where some of the details have become a little blurry around the edges. Maybe a little grandiose. A little bit. Yeah. So most sources agree on the major events. Thousands of whales were trapped. Yeah. The Moscova was dispatched to help. Channels were cut through the ice, and whales were eventually led to open water.

SPEAKER_01 17:00

But so you're telling me that people putting saddles on them and riding them out was not right? That's what I heard.

SPEAKER_02 17:07

So quick disclaimer the record, it's or excuse me, the rescue itself was well documented.

SPEAKER_01 17:13

Sure.

SPEAKER_02 17:14

Um, what is less clear is how they is how they did it.

SPEAKER_01 17:18

They lured them out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:20

So supposedly they used music to lure them out. Little Tchaikovsky. A little buck. Yes, exactly. So some accounts written years later describe crew members broadcasting classical music through the loud shippers mounted on the ship. Other versions mention sounds, just general sounds being used to attract the whales. Sure. And a few retellings become become like increasingly dramatic and specific with like each passing decade.

SPEAKER_01 17:50

So of course.

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As often as that kind of stuff happens, some details may be a little fuzzy.

SPEAKER_01 17:57

Reminds me of Star Trek 4, The Voyage Home, where they had to bring humpback whales back from the future to to get this weird space probe to go away. Because it communicated with the humpback whales.

SPEAKER_02 18:12

Interesting.

SPEAKER_01 18:12

Yeah, it just kind of reminds me of that. But with music. Yeah. Instead of humpbacks.

SPEAKER_02 18:17

Do you think they got a something from the playbook here? The beluga whale playbook?

SPEAKER_01 18:20

Well, I mean, this happened in 84, 85, and I, if I'm not mistaken, that movie came out in like 86. Let's let's say yes. Is that right? I don't remember.

SPEAKER_02 18:30

I could be wrong on the year, but so beluugas are incredible, um, incredibly vocal animals. Like, hey Marlene! Exactly. Got an ear over there? So they are probably I don't know why I said Marlene. I I think it's cute. Okay. They are among the most talkative marine mammals in the world. Really, really? Mm-hmm. Sailors have called them canaries of the sea because they whistle, they click, they chirp, um, and they squeal, and constantly then that's how they like communicate with each other.

SPEAKER_01 18:59

I guess I never because these are the white, they're white with the head, yeah, right?

SPEAKER_02 19:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

Um use the sonar kind of shit.

SPEAKER_02 19:08

Mm-hmm. So beluga's rely heavily on sound to understand the world around them. Some sound helps them navigate, locate food, communicate with other whales, and make sense of their environment.

SPEAKER_01 19:21

Because isn't it they're part of their sonar, really? Like with the sounds that reverberate. Yes. And like, or something that way.

SPEAKER_02 19:28

Yes. And in the dark waters, hearing is much more important than sight.

SPEAKER_01 19:33

Well, because you can't see.

SPEAKER_02 19:35

Yeah. So because of that, the idea that sound could influence their behavior is not far-fetched. Okay. But we just don't know if it actually how it happened in this story. Right. Excuse me. According to the most commonly repeated version of the story, crew members aboard the Moscova notice that the whales seemed curious about the ship and its noises. At some point, they reportedly began experimenting with sounds to encourage the beluga to move in a desired direction. Sure. So some say the classical music, others mention music generally. Um, but what we do know is that the whales gradually do begin following the ship. So um whether they were responding to music, engine noise, curiosity, whatever, maybe it was all of the above.

SPEAKER_00 20:25

Right.

SPEAKER_02 20:25

But the they were following the ship very slowly, but it was working.

SPEAKER_00 20:30

All right.

SPEAKER_02 20:30

The muscava continue carving channels through the ice while groups of belugas followed behind them. Um, the crew had to keep the channel open, monitor the whales, and avoid pushing them too far too quickly. So it was a very gradual channel.

SPEAKER_01 20:46

It's not like you're like full speed ahead.

SPEAKER_02 20:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:49

You gotta kind of make the pace of what the beluga's go at. So yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 20:54

Yes. So a change in the weather could be disastrous for this plan. Ice conditions could shift, the whales could decide to turn around, any number of things could go wrong, but they kept

Open Water Found And Cold War Afterthoughts

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going, and eventually, after a few weeks of effort, they reached the open water.

SPEAKER_00 21:15

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 21:16

For the trapped beluga, they could spread out, resume their migration, and return to the environment that they were meant to inhabit. Um, the danger was finally behind them. Not every whale survived the ordeal. Well, of course. Yeah, most accounts acknowledge that a lot losses occurred before and during the rescue effort. Sure. Um, and given the scale of the um situation, it was kind of unavoidable. Well, I mean, but it could have been a whole lot worse.

SPEAKER_01 21:42

It could have been horrifically worse because if they're estimating thousands of beluga's, you lose a hundred, even let's say a thousand, that's yeah, only ten percent.

SPEAKER_02 21:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:54

That's way better than losing a hundred percent. Yeah, or whatever. I mean, it's you're gonna have some casualties, unfortunately, but just because of the A, they're a little reluctant to follow the ship. Right. So, I mean, yeah, it's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_02 22:07

But the plan was a success. Um, the Cold War was still underway during this time. The Soviet Union and the United States were competing across political, military, technological, and ideological fronts. News coverage from the era often focused on conflict, tension, and rivalry. And then in the middle of this is this story.

SPEAKER_01 22:31

It's just so weird that, like, I mean, I'm not saying that they're not like helpful people, but it's like you wouldn't think of that. Like, not because of Russians, but just in general, people in general. It's like, ah, well, let's figure it out. Yeah. It's nice that they helped. Yeah, that's pretty pretty fucking awesome because now we get Beluga Wales and finding near Finding Dory. How cool is that?

SPEAKER_02 22:53

Is there? I've never seen Finding Dory.

SPEAKER_01 22:55

You haven't?

SPEAKER_02 22:56

I haven't seen a lot of like the new movies.

SPEAKER_01 22:59

Well, next time you're down, I'll make you watch it with Vesper.

SPEAKER_02 23:02

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 23:03

Welp.

Where To Find Us And Farewell

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I suppose.

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All right, buffoons. That's it for today's episode.

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Buckle up because we've got another historical adventure waiting for you next time. Feeling hungry for more buffoonery? Or maybe you have a burning question or a wild historical theory for us to explore?

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Hit us up on social media. We're History Buffoons Podcast on YouTube, X, Instagram, and Facebook. You can also email us at history buffoonspodcast at gmail.com. We are Bradley and Kate, music by Corey Akers.

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Remember, the buffoonery never stops.