Norwegian government officials have warned residents to steer clear of a friendly beluga whale that experts say may be a Russian “spy.”
The adorable sea creature, nicknamed Hvaldimir, was first spotted in 2019 wearing a harness branded “St. Petersburg” with mounts for an underwater camera — leading experts to believe he was trained by the Russian Navy.
The suspected slippery secret agent popped up again recently in the densely populated area of Inner Oslofjord, where he has been following boats and making a splash with folks on board, the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries warned Wednesday.
Frank Bakke-Jensen, director of the agency, urged residents to “avoid contact” with Hvaldimir for the safety of the animal, even though he’s “tame and used to being around people.”
“We especially encourage people in boats to keep a good distance to avoid the whale being injured or, in the worst case, killed by boat traffic,” said Bakke-Jensen.
The whale was first discovered by fisherman Joar Hesten in the northeastern county of Finnmark in 2019 after the mammal began rubbing his body against a boat.
At the time, Marine biologists and other experts told CNN that the critter was clearly a trained animal from Russia, with one of his harness clips reading “Equipment St. Petersburg” — fueling the theory that the fish may be a mole.
Source - NYP/Twitter - Video source - NYP/Youtube - Image - Jorgen Ree Wiig/Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries