(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) A beluga whale that may be a Russian spy, known as Hvaldimir, recently reappeared off the coast of Sweden.
According to the Daily Wire, the whale is now in the care of local authorities and an organization called OneWhale, which tracks the creature.
“After four years of swimming south down the coast of Norway, Hvaldimir—known worldwide as the ‘Russian spy’ beluga whale—is now in Swedish waters,” the group said.
Hvaldimir was first spotted in 2019 off the coast of Norway wearing a harness with GoPro camera mounts labeled “Equipment of St. Petersburg.”
Norwegian intelligence officials concluded that the Russian military likely trained the whale as a spy; however, Russia denied the claims—despite previously seeking dolphins for a training program as recently as 2016.
“Hvaldimir is a friendly, tamed, displaced, formerly captive whale who relies on humans for social interaction,” said a statement from OneWhale. “Belugas are highly social whales and he has been living all alone the past four years.”
OneWhale plans to release Hvaldimir back into a wild beluga population near Norway.
The whale is constantly vulnerable due to his fame and desire for interaction with humans. Unregulated tourism resulted in injury of the whale by boat propellers and fishing hooks.
“Hvaldimir’s situation remains an extremely vulnerable one as Sweden is a highly populated country, but we are very grateful Swedish authorities have quickly taken action to care for the whale,” said OneWhale President Rich German.
The idea that Hvaldimir was a military asset came from the Soviet Union’s military dolphin training programs. The military reportedly used the animals to find underwater mines and plant bombs.
In 2000, Iran purchased the highly trained military dolphins for undisclosed purposes.
The rogue Islamic regime also purchased a beluga whale trained to either attack enemy divers with harpoons or to drag them to the surface to take them into captivity.
Hvaldimir’s name is a combination of the Russian word for whale, “hval,” and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s name.
