During their vacation, the young boys save a baby beluga whale that washes up on a Canadian riverbank

Teenagers witnessed a baby beluga whale that had washed ashore on the St. Lawrence River in Canada while on a family vacation. Nicholas Milliard, 15, described how he and his younger brothers were able to save the animal.

The rescuers put the animal back in the water. There is only a slim chance that the cub will find its mother again or that a different beluga whale will feed it. Beluga whales feed and care for their young for two years; the cub cannot survive without the mother’s help.

Beluga whales formerly numbered in the tens of thousands in the St. Lawrence River; today, there are only 900 left. The reservoir pollution is to blame for this dramatic decline.

Whatever the case, the beluga whale that was saved now has a chance to live. And it’s all because of the work of caring boys.