Norway warned of it and it was monitored in the waters of Sweden.. What is the story of the "Russian spy beluga whale"
Beluga whales, which can reach six meters in size and live between 40 and 60 years, generally inhabit the icy waters around Greenland, northern Norway and Russia.
After sparking speculation that it was a trained spy from the Russian Navy when it appeared wrapped in a harness in Norway in 2019, a beluga whale has reappeared off the Swedish coast, an organization that monitors its movements said Monday.
The whale was first spotted in the far north of Norway, in the Finnmark region, and spent more than three years slowly moving down the upper half of the Norwegian coast, before suddenly accelerating its steps in recent months to reach the second half of the Norwegian coast, until Sunday noon in Honbostrand, off the coast. southwestern coast of Sweden.
"We don't know why it is moving so quickly at the present time," Sebastian Strand, a marine biologist at One Whale, told AFP, especially since it is moving "very quickly away from its natural environment."
"It could be hormones that drive him to look for a mate. Or it could be loneliness, because the beluga whale is a very social species, which means it may be looking for other whales" of its kind, he added.
Strand pointed out that the whale may reach between 13 and 14 years old, which means that it is "at an age when its hormones are very strong."
However, the closest beluga whales are found in the archipelago of Svalbard, in the far north of Norway.
Not a single beluga whale is believed to have been seen by the whale since it arrived in Norway in April 2019.
The Norwegians called this whale "Hvaldemir", a compound word that combines the words "Hval" ("whale" in Norwegian) and "Vladimir", referring to its alleged association with Russia.
When it first appeared in Arctic Norway, marine biologists from the Norwegian Fisheries Directorate removed a man-made belt from the whale.
The belt had a mount suitable for a motion-detection camera, with the words "St. Petersburg Equipment" on the plastic clips.
Directorate officials said Hvaldimir may have escaped from a barn, or he may have received training from the Russian Navy due to his apparent habit of being human.
Moscow has never issued an official response to the Norwegian speculation that he could be a "Russian spy".
The Barents Sea is a strategic geopolitical area in which the movements of Western and Russian submarines are monitored.
It is also the gateway to the northern route, which shortens sea voyages between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Strand said the whale's health had "appeared to be very good" in recent years, as it had been foraging for wild fish on Norwegian salmon farms.
The Norwegian authorities had called on its citizens a few days ago to "avoid dealing" with a gentle beluga whale, due to suspicions about his work as a spy for Russia.
But his organization has expressed concern about Hvaldemir's ability to find food in Sweden, and has already noted some weight loss.
Beluga whales, which can reach six meters in size and live between 40 and 60 years, generally inhabit the icy waters around Greenland, northern Norway and Russia.
Source : websites