The strange appearance of the Russian “spy whale” off the coast of Sweden

The mysterious whale, once suspected of being a Russian ‘spy’, has been spotted again in recent days.

Known locally as Hvaldimirthis mammal was first seen swimming near Norway in 2019. Now he has been seen in Swedish waters.

He still has a harness that was allegedly fitted to him in Russia.

After years of slowly moving south from the northern tip of Norway, the whale has accelerated out of Norwegian waters in recent months, according to OneWhale, the organization that tracks its movements.

The reason for his sudden trip south was unclear, but there are several possibilities.

New observation

OneWhale marine biologist Sebastian Strand noted that the whale’s recent change in movement could be due to a number of reasons.


“We don’t know why he sped up so much at that moment,” especially since It is moving “very rapidly away from its natural habitat”.Strand told AFP about this.

Jørgen Ree Wiig/Norwegian Fisheries Authority
According to experts, the beluga whale may need the company of other whales of its species.

Strand thinks there are two possible explanations for his change in behavior.

One of them are high hormone levelswhich may “push her to find a partner.”

another may be associated with lonelinessHe added: “Belugas are a very social species, it may be looking for other belugas.”

These mammals tend to live in the icy waters of the Arctic, around Greenland, Russia, Alaska, and northern Norway, and some migrate during the summer.

Is he a spy?

Beluga is domesticated and first approached Norwegian ships off Ingoya Island four years ago.


The island is in 415 km from Murmanskwhere is its base Russian Northern Fleet.

A pendant with a GoPro camera mount and the inscription “Team St. Petersburg” was found on it.

Hvaldimir Beluga

Jørgen Ree Wiig/Norwegian Fisheries Authority
Hvaldimir was first seen in 2019 wearing belts tying her to Russia.

The find sparked an investigation by the Norwegian intelligence services, who told the BBC it was likely she was trained by the Russian military.

The whale has since become known locally as Hvaldimirin a play on words between the Norwegian term for whale, praiseand the name of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin.

IN Moscow never officially responded to the lawsuit. that Hvaldimir was trained in the Russian army.

Russia has previously denied the existence of any program aimed at training marine mammals to be spies.


“If we used this animal for spying, do you think we would attach a phone to it with the message: “Please call this number?” – Russian reserve colonel Viktor Baranets quipped in 2019.


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Author: BBC news world
Source: La Opinion

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