In Sweden, “Russian spy beluga” Hvaldemir spotted on the coast
Jurgen Ree Wieg/AFP
In this April 2019 photo released by the Norwegian Directorate for Fisheries, a beluga named ‘Hvaldimir’ is found webbing off the coast of northern Norway.
International – A somewhat disturbing animal watch. Hvaldemir’s whale, which was discovered four years ago wearing a strange harness that I suspect was used by the Russian Navy, is currently off Sweden’s west coast, according to a nongovernmental organization that tracks its movements.
After being spotted in the Oslo Strait in recent days, it was sighted on Sunday further south in the North Sea, at Honbostrand on Sweden’s west coast, Sebastian Strand of OneWhale told AFP.
First spotted in Norwegian Arctic waters in 2019, the name of this several-meter-long white whale comes from a pun connecting the word whale (hval, in Norwegian), and the symbolic Russian first name.
After spending three years slowly descending from northern Norway, it has been heading south in recent months, for a reason yet unknown. We don’t know why he’s moving so fast now.especially since then“away from its natural environment”stressed the marine biologist.
On Twitter, the NGO also indicated that it is working with Swedish authorities to preserve the animal from curious people and malicious poachers.
“It could be hormones that are driving him to find a mate. Or feeling lonely, the beluga being so social, he might be looking for others.”. According to Sebastien Strand, Hvaldimir appears to be in good health in recent years, feeding on fish that are attracted to Norway’s large salmon farms.
A belt attached to the whale’s head
Between 13 and 14 years old, according to estimates. “Hvaldemir” Spotted in April 2019 off the arctic region of Finnmark, in the far north of Norway. Not far from the Barents Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, two strategic areas for the Western and Russian navies, and the usual contact area for their submarines.
Biologists who got close to him managed to remove the belt around his head. This is equipped with a base for a small camera with text “Saint Petersburg equipment” Printed in English on the plastic straps.
The Norwegian Fisheries Directorate speculated at the time that Hvaldemir had escaped from a pen, and was dragged away by the Russian navy, as he seemed accustomed to human company and tended to approach ships. However, Moscow has never ventured to comment on these speculations.
Typically, beluga whales live in the Far North, near Greenland, or in Russian or Norwegian Arctic waters.
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