NORWAY: BELUGA BREACH!

Russ. ‘spy’ whale

There’s something fishy about this whale. Norwegian officials have warned residents to steer clear of a friendly beluga whale that experts say may be a Russian spy swimming along the country’s coastline. The adorable sea creature, nicknamed Hvaldimir, was first spotted in 2019 wearing a harness branded “St. Petersburg” with mounts for an underwater camera — leading experts to believe he was trained by the Russian navy. The suspected secret agent (above) popped up again recently in the densely populated area of Inner Oslofjord, where he has been following boats and making a splash with folks on board, the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries warned Wednesday. Frank Bakke-Jensen, director of the agency, urged residents to “avoid contact” with Hvaldimir for the safety of the animal, even though he’s “tame and used to being around people.” “We especially encourage people in boats to keep a good distance to avoid the whale being injured or, in the worst case, killed by boat traffic,” he said.

The aquatic mammal “suffered minor injuries, primarily from contact with boats,” and the “risk that the whale may be injured due to human contact has become significantly greater,” the agency said in a statement.

In recent weeks, the white whale has been foraging for food near farms, “where it has been able to catch fish grazing on surplus feed,” it added.

Hvaldimir — whose name combines the Norwegian word for whale and Russian President Vladimir Putin — won’t be captured by officials despite his possible ties to the country.

“We have always communicated that the whale in question is a free-living animal, and we see no reason to capture it and put it behind barriers,” Bakke-Jensen said.

His movements will, however, be monitored.

The whale was first discovered by fisherman Joar Hesten in the northeastern county of Finnmark in 2019 after the mammal began rubbing his body against a boat.

At the time, experts told CNN that the whale was clearly a trained animal from Russia, whose navy would train belugas for operations.