Norwegian beluga whale Photo: GloboNews/Reproduction
In 2019, a beluga whale was sighted off the coast of Norway wearing a band resembling a horse’s halter, raising suspicions that it may have been trained by the Russians to be a spy. Last Sunday (28) the same whale reappeared off the coast of Sweden, a country about to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
When the beluga whale was first sighted in Norwegian waters, Norwegian marine biologists removed the halter it was wearing. The tape contained a video camera mount and the plastic clasps read “Equipment St. Petersburg”. Authorities have suggested the whale may have escaped captivity and possibly been trained by the Russian Navy due to its familiar behavior towards humans.
The Barents Sea is a strategic geopolitical area where there is significant movement of Russian and Western submarines. So far, the Russian government has not commented on the beluga whale.
1 of 1 Beluga, or White Whale, swims with a device strapped to the body near a fishing boat off the north coast of Norway Photo: Joergen Ree Wiig/Norwegian Direcorate of Fisheries Sea Surveillance Unit via AP Beluga, or White Whale The whale swims with an am Body attached device near a fishing boat off the north coast of Norway.
Back then, Norwegians nicknamed the whale Hvaldimir, making a pun on the Norwegian word for “whale” “hval” and “Vladimir”, which refers to Russian names.
Hvaldimir has spent more than three years off the Norwegian coast and was recently spotted off Hunnebostrand off the coast of Sweden. Biologists believe the animal may be looking for a mate or a group of whales, as belugas are social animals and Hvaldimir was alone. The whale is estimated to be between 13 and 14 years old, a period when hormone levels are high.
Beluga whales are causing a stir among authorities in Norway