A beluga whale that defected from the Russian Navy in 2019 may have found a new home in Norway.
The 2,700-kilogram whale, nicknamed Hvaldimir, is believed to have carried out military operations for Putin after locals discovered it was wearing a harness reading ‘Equipment St. Petersburg’ as it slowly pulled boats behind it.
Hvaldimir emerged off the coast of Sweden last May and is making its way to the Spitsbergen region this month, and marine biologists are now trying to integrate it into the wild.
The OneWhale team hopes to introduce Hvaldimir to a pod of 500 to 600 beluga whales that live in Arctic waters and will be his forever home.
The Russian minke whale Hvaldimir escaped from St. Petersburg, Russia before crossing the ocean to Norway and then Sweden and has now found a new home in the Spitsbergen region this month
OneWhale has been trying to work with the Norwegian government to integrate Hvaldimir into a nearby capsule, and has just received the support needed to move forward
Russia has a long history of training dolphins for its war efforts, but marine biologists think it has added whales to its arsenal.
Inge Wegge, OneWhale’s Norwegian advisor, told Dailymail.com: “It started to become clearer how Russia was using these animals and that Hvaldimir had escaped just in time.”
Russia has never formally responded to Hvaldimir’s escape or to allegations that its military is using beluga whales in its war efforts.
However, Russian Reserve Colonel Viktor Baranets said in a 2019 broadcast: “If we were to use this animal for espionage, do you really think we would add a mobile phone number to the message ‘Please call this number?’
When Hvaldimir first appeared in the Norwegian Arctic in 2019, local residents were warned to stay away from the alleged sea spy.
Marine biologists from the Norwegian Fisheries Directorate rushed to the scene and removed the whale’s attached artificial harness.
In an apparent giveaway, the harness clips read “Equipment St. Petersburg,” adding to the theory that he was trained by the Russian Navy
Hvaldimir was spotted off the coast of Norway in 2019. The whale would follow close to boats
Marine biologists believed that Hvaldimir did not encounter any other beluga whales during his travels
The harness had a mount suitable for an action camera and the words ‘Equipment St. Petersburg’ were printed on the plastic fasteners.
Directorate officials said Hvaldimir may have escaped from an enclosure and was trained by the Russian navy because it appears to be used to humans.
The whale then spent more than three years moving slowly along the top half of the Norwegian coastline, before suddenly speeding up in recent months to cover the second half and move on to Sweden.
Hvaldimir stunned scientists when he turned up in Sweden, saying they did not believe the beluga had encountered another beluga whale since escaping from Russia.
Researchers said it was likely the whale was looking for a mate.
The OneWhale team hopes to introduce Hvaldimir to a group of 500 to 600 wild beluga whales that live in Arctic waters
Hvaldimir is estimated to be between 12 and 20 years old and weighs 2,700 pounds
Regina Crosby Haug, who founded the nonprofit OneWhale, said Hvaldimir’s escape into the wild could have been a death sentence, but she and her team stayed with him to ensure he survived.
“After years of efforts… they (the Norwegian government) showed up for Hvaldimir,” she said.
‘They came to the table and we have been working on a real, sustainable solution ever since.
“Norway has shown us and the world that they want Hvaldimir to live a long, natural life in the wild.”
Marine biologists think the whale is somewhere between 12 and 20 years old, but it is so difficult to determine the precise age of a beluga because of their diverse aging patterns and varied growth and development.
The whales there are known for living in close-knit family groups and sharing and learning languages to each other.
The group also exhibits highly social behavior, which should give Hvaldimir “a very good opportunity to integrate and live a life with his kind,” Victoria told Dailymail.com.