NOAA Fisheries Image Gallery

Rescue of Two Gray Whales

Picture by: Dave Withrow Picture taken on: February 1st, 1988

Tags: gray whale operation breakthrough rescue Alaska 1988

Two gray whales wait, breathing in hole while a nearby pump keeps hole from refreezing. Experts continue to move sea ice out of the path for the two surviving gray whales during 1988’s Operation Breakthrough, where gray whales were rescued outside of Barrow, Alaska when sea ice trapped them from reaching open water. This event inspired a new film called Big Miracle, which was released in February 2012. This photo was scanned from slides at the National Marine Mammal Lab in Seattle.

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