Two Beluga Whales Up the River

McGRATH, Alaska — Two beluga whales making their way up the Kuskokwim River have been spotted again. The whales were seen Tuesday evening, August 12, in front of the old Red Devil mine just above the village of Red Devil. Several residents of Sleetmute have reported seeing them.

On Sunday evening, the whales were spotted 35 miles downriver. They are thought to be a cow with her calf. The whales were first reported by the mouth of the Oskawalik River, 10 miles below Crooked Creek, by a helicopter crew connected to the Donlin Creek Mine near Crooked.

The last verified sighting of whales so far up the Kuskokwim was in the late 1980s.