2 weeks Ago
Runaway 'spy whale' fled Russian military training says marine scientist Norwegian Orca Survey The tame beluga whale approached Norwegian fishermen in 2019, wearing a harness, leading to speculation that it was an escaped Russian "spy whale" The mystery as to why a beluga whale appeared off the coast of Norway wearing a harness may finally have been solved. The tame white whale, which locals named Hvaldimir, made headlines five years ago amidst widespread speculation that it was a Russian spy. Now an expert in the species says she believes the whale did indeed belong to the military and escaped from a naval base in the Arctic Circle.
But Dr Olga Shpak does not believe it was a spy. She believes the beluga was being trained to guard the base and fled because it was a "hooligan". Russia has always refused to confirm or deny that the beluga whale was trained by its military.
But Dr Shpak, who worked in Russia researching marine mammals from the 1990s until she returned to her native Ukraine in 2022, told BBC News: "For me it's 100% (certain)." Dr Shpak, whose account is based on conversations with friends and former colleagues in Russia, features in a BBC documentary, Secrets of the Spy Whale, which is now on BBC iPlayer and being shown on BBC Two on Wednesday at 21:00 GMT. Jørgen Ree Wiiig The beluga whale was wearing a harness which contained a mount for a camera The mysterious whale first came to public attention five years ago when it approached fishermen off the northern coast of Norway.
"The whale starts rubbing against the boat," Joar Hesten, one of the fishermen, says. "I heard about animals in distress that instinctively knew that they need help from humans. I was thinking that.
.. Jonah Fisher.
