At least two close encounters with ‘smiley’ and playful animals were filmed in the Far East of Russia.
Leaders of the Free Willy project beg the president to intervene with trapped orca and beluga whales.
Alexey Paramonov, 36, stayed with the whales until tide returned, keeping them safe and hydrated.
The marine mammals were washed ashore on an 800 kilometre stretch of the region's Arctic coast.
Five belugas were stranded on the same beach by the Sea of Okhotsk within less than a week.
Sea creatures in ‘Whale Jail’ are ‘trapped’ under ice amid growing concern over their fate.
43 bears arrive to feast on two rare Red List whales washed ashore close to far-flung settlement.
Hollywood celebrity plans a trip with sons to discover what lies between Moscow and Vladivostok.
But seals prove more adept at undertaking polar missions, including potentially killing intruders, say experts.