07/08/2025
"It sounds like a scene from a movie, but it truly happened. Yang Yun, a 26-year-old Chinese freediver, was competing in an apnea diving event in Harbin, northeastern China. The icy waters of the polar pool were home to several beluga whales, including one named Mila.
As Yang dove toward the bottom in an attempt to break a record, her legs suddenly cramped from the freezing temperatures, leaving her paralyzed and unable to swim. Sinking and terrified, she believed she was moments from drowning.
Then, something extraordinary happened.
Out of nowhere, a powerful force began to push her upward. It was Mila. Sensing Yang was in danger, the beluga gently wrapped her mouth around the diver’s leg and guided her back to the surface. “If it had been up to me, I would have died,” Yang later told The Telegraph. “But suddenly I felt this incredible force pushing me upward.”
Stunned organizers confirmed what witnesses had seen: “Mila was the first to sense the danger.”
Beluga whales are renowned for their intelligence, empathy, and their unique ability to interact with humans. They are among the few whale species capable of expressing emotions through facial movement—often described as "smiling." Mila’s instinctive rescue of Yang Yun is more than a lucky moment; it’s a powerful reminder of the extraordinary bonds that can exist between humans and animals—a story of interspecies connection that defies belief."
Bonding with nature.
