A beluga whale, believed to be a Russian spy, first appeared in Norway four years ago and has now resurfaced off the coast of Sweden, leaving scientists puzzled.
The beluga was first spotted in the waters off Norway in 2019. At that time, fishermen discovered the whale wearing a harness with a camera attached, which bore the inscription “Equipment St. Petersburg”, suggesting it might have originated from Russia. A fisherman reported the sighting to the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries.
The beluga whale, wearing a harness, spotted in Norwegian waters in April 2019. (Photo: Reuters).
Jorgen Ree Wiig, a marine biologist, told CNN at the time that Norwegian authorities believed the whale had come from Russia and had been trained by the Russian Navy for military operations.
Biologists noted that beluga whales have previously been used to protect naval bases, assist divers, and locate lost equipment. During the Cold War, Russia was believed to have used beluga whales to detect mines and torpedoes.
Researchers observed that the whale had clearly been trained, as it actively approached boats, surfaced, and opened its mouth waiting for food as a reward. It remains unclear how the whale made it to Norway, with one theory suggesting it may have escaped from an underwater pen.
The whale has been named Hvaldimir. Norwegian authorities removed its collar. Hvaldimir gained attention when it found and returned a mobile phone that a woman had dropped into the water.
After several years of traveling down the southern coast of Norway, the beluga whale accelerated quickly, swimming along the southern coastline, and appeared off the southwestern coast of Sweden last weekend, according to reports from the Guardian.
“We don’t know why it has sped up so quickly,” Sebastian Strand, a marine biologist with OneWhale, told the Guardian. He emphasized that this behavior is puzzling as the whale is moving rapidly away from its natural environment.
Beluga whales typically inhabit areas further north, in the Arctic Ocean, the cold waters off northern Norway, and around Greenland.
“It could be due to hormones driving it to seek a mate, or it could be loneliness. Belugas are a very social species, so it may be looking for other beluga whales,” Strand explained.
Russia has never commented on reports suggesting that the beluga whale could be one of their spies.
