- I have seen how the first white whales moved into the world's first reserve on the high seas - it can not get better than this. Months of preparation, planning and training paid off this morning, says Audrey Padgett, head of the Sea Life Trut White Whale Reservation.

The white whales, or belugas as they are also called, were captured by Russian researchers in 2011 and later taken to a water park in Shanghai, China, where they were allowed to perform in front of an audience, reports the BBC, among others. It took until 2019 before the owners agreed to let them have a new home in Iceland.

Trained to fend for themselves

Behind the nearly 1,000-mile journey was the non-profit organization Sea Life Trust, based in the United Kingdom. Once in Iceland, they had to undergo a training program to be able to fend for themselves in the wild. For example, they learned to use stones to rub away dead skin cells and were introduced to various animals and plants they will encounter in the sea.

Now they have finally been released into the sea. Initially, they will be kept in a fence to see how they cope with the change, but the plan is that they will eventually be released into the bay at Hemön south of Iceland.

Praise in social media

The story of Little White and Little Gray has been widely circulated on social media and several of the most engaging posts on Facebook in recent days have been about them, according to the analysis tool Crowdtangle.

What an incredible achievement by everyone involved. Hope that Little White and Little Gray have a wonderful life ahead of them, they are more than beautiful "is one of thousands of comments during the BBC's post.

"Nice with some good news 2020, God knows we needed it" writes another.