FRIENDLY WHALE LIKELY AN ESCAPED ‘RUSSIAN SPY’
FISHERMAN have discovered a whale strapped into a “spy” harness which is believed to have escaped from an experimental Russian military program.
The beluga whale was said to be extremely tame and approached the fishermen while they were sailing in the seas above Norway.
When researchers were notified, they discovered the harness contained an attachment that could fit a GoPro camera and had “Equipment of St Petersburg” inscribed on it.
According to NRK, the whale is known to local fishermen because it searches out boats and tries to free itself by rubbing the straps off against their hulls.
Fisherman Joar Hesten said: “We were going to put out yarn when we saw a whale swimming between the boats.
“It came over to us, and as it approached, we saw that it had some sort of harness on it.”
Baffled experts have since said they believe it has escaped from a Russian Navy base in nearby Murmansk.
Martin Biuw, of the Institute of Marine Research in Norway, said: “If this whale comes from Russia – and there is great reason to believe it (does) – then it is not Russian scientists, but rather the navy that has done this.”
This story was originally published in The Sun and is reprinted with permission.