[Animals] The strange reappearance of the Russian 'spy whale': why does it raise curiosity?

[Mr.Hacker]

 

A mysterious whale, once suspected of being a Russian "spy", has been sighted again in recent days.

Known locally as the Hvaldimir, the mammal was first seen swimming near Norway in 2019. It has now been spotted in Swedish waters.

He still has a harness that was allegedly fitted to him in Russia.

After spending years slowly moving south from the northern tip of Norway, the whale has accelerated its movements out of Norwegian waters in recent months, according to OneWhale, an organization that monitors its movement.

The reason behind his sudden trip south was unclear, but there are a couple of possibilities.

The new sighting
A OneWhale marine biologist, Sebastian Strand, noted that there could be a number of reasons for the recent change in the whale's movements.

"We don't know why it has accelerated so much at this point," especially as it is moving "very rapidly out of its natural environment," Strand told AFP.

Strand considers that there may be two possible explanations for his change in behaviour.

One of them is the high levels of hormones, which could be "driving her to find a partner."

Another could be related to "loneliness", he added: "Belugas are a very social species, it could be that it is looking for other belugas."

These mammals tend to live in the icy waters of the Arctic, around Greenland, Russia, Alaska, and northern Norway, with some migrating during the summer.

Is he a spy?
The beluga is domesticated and first approached Norwegian ships near Ingoya Island four years ago.

The island is 415 km from Murmansk, where the Russian Northern Fleet is based.

She was discovered wearing a harness equipped with a GoPro camera mount and an inscription that read "Team St. Petersburg."

The find prompted an investigation by Norwegian intelligence services, which told the BBC that it was likely she had been trained by the Russian military.

Since then, the whale has come to be known locally as Hvaldimir, a pun between the Norwegian term for whale, hval, and the name of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In Moscow they have never officially responded to the claim that Hvaldimir was trained by the Russian army.

Previously, Russia has denied the existence of any program that seeks to train marine mammals as spies.

"If we were using this animal to spy, do you really think we would put a phone on it with the message 'Please call this number?'" a Russian reserve colonel, Viktor Baranets, quipped in 2019.

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https://www.eltiempo.com/vida/medio-ambiente/la-ballena-espia-rusa-en-las-costas-de-suecia-que-aprecio-con-mensaje-773516