A beluga whale widely speculated to be an alleged Russian 鈥渟py鈥� has entered Swedish waters, , an organization set up to protect the animal鈥檚 health and welfare.
The whale, nicknamed Hvaldimir, garnered international fame in 2019 after being spotted wearing a specially made harness with mounts for a camera, leading experts to believe that the animal may have been trained by the Russian military.
鈥淎fter four years of swimming south down the coast of Norway, Hvaldimir 鈥� known worldwide as the 鈥楻ussian spy鈥� beluga whale 鈥� is now in Swedish waters,鈥� OneWhale said in a statement on Monday.
Hvaldimir was recently spotted in Norway鈥檚 capital Oslo, prompting concerns for the whale鈥檚 safety given the heavy boat traffic in the area.
鈥淏ut the famous beluga skirted around the dangerous waters of Oslo for Sweden,鈥� OneWhale鈥檚 statement said.
鈥淲e are impressed by Sweden鈥檚 show of care for Hvaldimir. They immediately contacted us upon his arrival, and even closed a bridge to protect him.鈥�
President of OneWhale, Rich German, had further praise for Sweden鈥檚 reaction to the whale鈥檚 arrival.
鈥淗valdimir鈥檚 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,鈥� he said.
Earlier this month, the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries said Hvaldimir had 鈥渂een travelling along the Norwegian coast鈥� since 2019 with a few stops along the way.
The whale 鈥渢ends to stay at farms where it has been able to catch fish, grazing on surplus feed,鈥� the directorate added.
Hvaldimir is known to follow boats and play with those on board.
The whale鈥檚 arrival in the 鈥渄ensely populated area鈥� around Oslo meant that 鈥渢he risk that the whale may be injured due to human contact has become significantly greater,鈥� said the directorate at the time.
In 2019, experts told CNN that Hvaldimir was a trained animal, and evidence suggested that the whale had come from Russia.
Jorgen Ree Wiig, a marine biologist at Norway鈥檚 Directorate of Fisheries, told CNN that the harness appeared 鈥渟pecially made鈥� and had 鈥渕ounts for GoPro cameras on each side of it.鈥�
And the harness clips read 鈥淓quipment St. Petersburg,鈥� contributing to a theory that the whale came from Murmansk, Russia, and was trained by the Russian navy.
The navy has 鈥渂een known to train belugas to conduct military operations before,鈥� Wiig said, 鈥渓ike guarding naval bases, helping divers, finding lost equipment.鈥�
