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»Hvaldimir« in spring 2019

Photo: JORGEN REE WIIG / AFP

The beluga whale »Hvaldimir«, which appeared in Norway four years ago equipped with a mysterious harness and led to speculation about Russian espionage, has swum south to the southwest coast of Sweden. The environmental organization OneWhale, which is dedicated to the fate of the animal, reports a sighting near the village of Hunnebostrand.

For more than three years, the animal had moved very slowly away from Norway and had been spotted near Oslo just a few days ago. The organization called the whale healthy and well-fed – it also arguably benefits from fish attracted by large Norwegian salmon farms.

"We don't know why it's moving so fast at the moment," said marine biologist Strand. It is possible that the hormones or loneliness are the reason for the rapid removal of the animal. But in the direction in which he is now swimming, »Hvaldimir« can hardly hope for conspecifics. Beluga whales usually live much further north, near Greenland or in the waters of the Russian or Norwegian Arctic, around Spitsbergen.

Never a comment from Moscow

At the end of April 2019, the Norwegian Coast Guard had spotted a tame and curious beluga whale off the coast of the northernmost administrative district of Finnmark, approaching fishing boats and wearing a harness with a camera position with the inscription "Equipment St. Petersburg".

The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries speculated at the time that the animal had escaped from captivity and had been trained by the Russian Navy. The Barents Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, where the whale appeared, are considered strategically important areas.

Biologists managed to remove the dishes from the beluga whale for closer examination. However, the purpose and origin of the equipment is still unclear today. Moscow has never officially commented on the speculation.

The name of the probably 13 or 14-year-old white or beluga whale is composed of the Norwegian word for whale ("hval") and the Russian first name Vladimir. He had been identified in an online vote. Among the other candidates was »White Russian«.

chs/AFP