In 2019, we posted about fishermen off the coast of Norway who encountered a beluga whale wearing a harness that read “Equipment of St. Petersburg. Researchers think the beluga may be a Russian spy in training.

There was speculation that the harness-wearing beluga was part of Russian spycraft gone wrong. The harness was believed to be designed for some sort of camera or possibly a weapon. 

Subsequently, the whale “defected” to Norway, apparently preferring to stay in Norwegian waters than return to Russia. For some time, the whale interacted with boaters around Hammerfest Harbor in Norway, before swimming off to feed along the Norwegian coast.

The Norwegian press has nicknamed the whale Hvaldimir, a pun on the Norwegian hval (whale) and Vladimir Putin.

Recently, Hvaldimir has reappeared in Oslofjord and the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries is warning people to keep away from the ‘spy’ whale for the animal’s safety. The directorate noted that “it has arrived in a very densely populated area, and the risk that the whale may be injured due to human contact has become significantly greater.” 

CNN quotes Fisheries Director Frank Bakke-Jensen said that “so far there have only been minor incidents where the whale has suffered minor injuries, primarily from contact with boats.”

But he urged people to keep their distance, “even though the whale is 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,” said Bakke-Jensen.