In December 1984, a group of 3,000 beluga whales were trapped by ice in the Chukchi Sea, near Russia. The whales were confined to small open water ponds surrounded by thick, impassable ice up to 10 feet thick in some areas.

Without access to larger areas of the ocean, the whales had difficulty breathing and were at risk of dying.

To help rescue them, an icebreaker named Admiral Makarov was brought in, equipped with a specially reinforced ice-breaking hull. The ship attempted to take the whales to safety by breaking the ice, but the belugas initially refused to follow.

When the crew began playing classical music like Tchaikovsky over the ship’s speakers, the whales finally began to follow the Makarov through the narrow open-water channel. This allowed 2,000 whales to reach the unfrozen ocean after a journey of almost 100 miles.

The successful rescue effort lasted several days and was later dubbed “Operation Beluga.” It was a massive undertaking that involved several countries, including the Soviet Union, the United States, Canada, and Japan.