Runaway 'spy whale' fled Russian military training says marine scientist
Runaway 'spy whale' fled Russian military training says marine scientist
Marine scientist uncovers the story behind Andruha's escape from Russian military training programme.
Summary
In 2019, a beluga whale wearing a “Equipment St Petersburg” harness appeared off Norway, sparking rumors of it being a Russian “spy whale.”
Nicknamed Hvaldimir, the social whale showed signs of prior training. Dr. Olga Shpak, a marine expert, believes Hvaldimir—formerly called Andruha—likely escaped from a Russian Arctic military base where it was trained to guard, not spy.
In September 2024, Hvaldimir was found dead, apparently from a stick lodged in its body.
Then on September 1 2024 its body was found floating at sea, near the town of Risavika, on Norway's south-western coast.
Had the long arm of Putin’s Russia caught up with the reluctant beluga?
I'm glad the BBC decided to close their article with a bit of humor about the tragic death of a poor abused animal who had a very short taste of freedom. Many guffaws are assumed to have occurred.
The entire joke is about people repeatedly being targeted and killed by Russia. It's generally a dark joke.
I understand the joke. I just thought it was in incredibly poor taste in this context.
That whale better watch out, they might throw him off a balcony
In September 2024, Hvaldimir was found dead, apparently from a stick lodged in its body.
It's too late, they already got him. Must've hit a tree on the way down.