Hvaldimir

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In the port of Hammerfest
Notice board to Hvaldimir

Hvaldimir is a beluga whale that repeatedly approached fishermen in northern Norway in April 2019; obviously the animal was used to people. The whale was wearing a harness with a camera mount and the words “Equipment St. Petersburg” in English. It has been speculated that the whale was trained for espionage purposes by the Russian Navy. In an online poll, the animal was nicknamed Hvaldimir , a combination of the Norwegian word for whale, Hval , with the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin .

history

The whale appeared on April 26, 2019 north of Hammerfest off the island of Ingøy by a group of fishing boats. He was wearing tight-fitting harness that he tried to remove from the boats. The fishermen managed to free the whale from its harness; they found “St. Petersburg Equipment” on a buckle. Even after being freed from the harness, the beluga stayed near the fishermen for several days. He let himself be scratched, begged for food and played fetch. He also followed the boats into the port of Hammerfest.

Hvaldimir's age was estimated to be 8 to 10 years. With a length of three meters sixty, a weight of about 570 kilograms was assumed.

Because of his trustworthiness, it was feared that Hvaldimir could no longer take care of himself and would not be able to join a Beluga group. The Norwegian Fisheries Authority and the police called on the public not to feed or attract the whale. It was warned that the animal could react aggressively or become too dependent on humans, such as the orca Keiko . There were considerations to take the whale to a sanctuary in Iceland , where two belugas from China were already staying.

The organization "Norwegian Orca Survey" (NOS) took over the feeding of Hvaldimir. Donations were collected through the “Hvaldimir Foundation”. Hammerfest Harbor was not an ideal place to stay for Hvaldimir; Polluted water and heavy shipping traffic were not inconsiderable risks. At times Hvaldimir showed signs of malnutrition.

On July 19, 2019, Hvaldimir left Hammerfest Harbor and was sighted about 50 kilometers away. Maybe he was following a boat.

In the following weeks Hvaldimir stayed in various places around the island of Seiland south of Hammerfest, including near a salmon farm. Attempts to lure him back to Hammerfest failed. However, observations indicated that the beluga was now looking for food on its own.

On August 30, 2019, Hvaldimir reappeared in Hammerfest after more than a month. He had lost weight but seemed healthy but exhausted. After a few days of rest, during which he was fed again, Hvaldimir set off again for Seiland on September 6, 2019.

In early November 2019, a video hit the media showing a beluga bringing a rugby ball thrown into the water back to a boat. Hvaldimir Foundation confirmed that it was Hvaldimir.

The smartphone incident

After Hvaldimir had arrived in Hammerfest and stayed near the port, people came to the port to see the beluga and, if possible, to stroke it. A young woman leaned forward and lost her smartphone, which sank in the harbor basin. A little later, Hvaldimir appeared with the smartphone in his mouth and gave it back to the young woman. A video of the incident was posted on Instagram .

Nickname Hvaldimir

The Norwegian broadcaster NRK called on the public to choose a name for the trusting Beluga, suspected of Russian espionage. 25,000 people took part in the election and the majority voted for Hvaldimir , a made-up word from the Norwegian word for whale, Hval , and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Theories of origin

At first it was assumed that Hvaldimir had been trained by the Russian Navy for espionage purposes. The area where the beluga appeared is not far from the Norwegian-Russian border and just over 400 km from the Russian naval base of Murmansk . The Russian Defense Ministry rejected the allegation.

Another theory sees Hvaldimir trained to work with children. The harness was used to pull boats with children. According to Bettina Wurche, Hvaldimir is a therapy whale that was found injured in Russia, nursed back to health and has been used in the White Sea to treat sick and disabled children since 2008 . His Russian name was Semjon.

Because the inscription "Equipment St. Petersburg" ( Equipment St. Petersburg ) in English, there was also the suggestion Hvaldimir could consist of a US training center for dolphins and whales in Saint Petersburg , Florida , have escaped (that is not there ). However, Hvaldimir did not seem to have traveled that great distance.

Web links

Commons : Hvaldimir  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Suspected spy whale is now called "Hvaldimir" . Spiegel Online , May 5, 2019
  2. ↑ Mystery off the Norwegian coast: is this whale a Russian spy? Report on the ZDF website , April 30, 2019
  3. ↑ Julia Haase: Beluga whale with dishes purposefully bumped into fishing boats . Die Welt , April 29, 2019
  4. ^ Matthias Stolz: Beluga whale: About prominent animals . Zeit-Magazin No. 21/2019, May 15, 2019
  5. ^ A b Norway finds 'Russian spy whale' off the Arctic coast . BBC , April 29, 2019 (English)
  6. ↑ a b c d Jan M. Olsen: Meet the world's friendliest escaped Russian spy whale . NavyTimes.com, April 30, 2019 (English)
  7. ↑ a b c d Darko Janjevic: Russian 'spy whale' may have provided therapy for children . Deutsche Welle , May 8, 2019 (English)
  8. ↑ a b Jack Guy and Emily Dixon: 'Russian spy' whale shines spotlight on military-grade anaimals . CNN , May 4, 2019
  9. ↑ a b c d Jon Henley: 'Russian spy' whale has defected to Norway, locals claim . The Guardian , May 2, 2019 (English)
  10. ↑ a b Hvaldimir Foundation - An Initiative of Norwegian Orca Survey (English)
  11. ↑ a b Bettina Wurche: News from Hvaldimir, the white whale . scienceblogs.de/meertext, August 2, 2019
  12. ↑ Kai Strittmatter: The whale that gave up all riddles . Süddeutsche Zeitung , July 22, 2019
  13. ↑ a b c Blog of the Hvaldimir Foundation - accessed on November 20, 2019 (English)
  14. ↑ Beluga whale playing rugby on YouTube
  15. ↑ Hilary Hanson: Beluga Playing Fetch In Viral Video Confirmed To Be So-Called 'Russian Spy Whale' . Huffpost , November 12, 2019 (English)
  16. ↑ Mike Moffit: See the alleged Russian spy whale retrieve woman's dropped iPhone . San Francisco Chronicle, May 8, 2019 (English)
  17. ^ A b Nina Berglund: White whale now named ´Hvaldimir ' . NewsInEnglish.no, May 3, 2019 (English)