White Whale in Hunnebostrand - could be Russian "spy whale"

29 May, 2023

The beluga whale that caused a stir in Hunnebostrand could be Hvaldimir – a Russian “spy whale” that escaped from a mission, reports P4 Väst.

On Sunday, many curious people flocked to the harbor in Hunnebostrand to watch a beluga whale that had appeared. Initially, there were suspicions that the whale was stuck under a boat – but it turned out that it was just being playful.

The whale was not stuck, it just played with the tampers. We tried moving it, but then it started playing with other tampons, so it seemed to think it was fun. The whales are in good spirits, said Lars Jostelius at the rescue service to Bohusläningen.

– Now it turns out that the whale may be the Russian “spy whale” Hvaldimir, reports P4 West.

The Russians have not officially confirmed ownership of him, but what we see, which he has probably been trained for, strongly points to a military training program, says Sebastian Strand from the organization Onewhale, which has followed the elections for several years, to the radio channel.

The whale was first seen in Norwegian waters in April 2019. It was then unafraid of people and had a camera harness on. Onewhale believes that the whale then escaped from a mission.

– It’s a pretty surreal situation. He is the only military-trained whale in the world who now lives freely and seeks out people, says Sebastian Strand.

Text: Alice Nordevik/TT
Photo: Darryl Dyck/AP/TT

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