A marine biologist tracking Hvaldimir says the beluga whale's solitude has cause him to seek human companionship.
abc.net.au/news/spy-whale-moves-to-sweden-because-hes-lonely/102414374A beluga whale famously suspected of being a Russian-trained spy has migrated to the Swedish coast because he is lonely, according to a marine biologist.His Russian-made harness led to a theory he was used for spyingNicknamed Hvaldimir, the male beluga was first spotted in 2019 off the coast of northern Norway wearing a tight harness with the words "property of St Petersburg" printed on it.
"The situation has changed and he has gone from Norway into Sweden, which has more populated areas, more boats and the warmer water," marine biologist Sebastian Strand told ABC Radio National.Dr Strand said the reason for his movements could be loneliness. "Hvaldimir belongs to a very social species but he has very, very likely not met another beluga on his travels.""The closet population of belugas is Svalbard off the coast of Norway, and it was hard to communicate to him he would have to turn right," Dr Strand said.Hvaldimir's harness quickly led to the theory that he was trained in a Russian military program and the harness could have been used to hold a camera to film strategic targets.
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