Carcass of whale Hvaldimir suspected of spying for Russia found in Norway
The carcass of a beluga whale, Hvaldimir, has been found off the coast of Norway, the animal protection non-profit Marine Mind reported.
Animal rights activists explained that they received a message from a local resident and, upon arriving at the scene, found the animal with no signs of life. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death.
Hvaldimir was more than just a beluga whale. He bridged the gap between humans and wild animals in a way few others can. He taught us more about ourselves.
Hvaldimir was suspected of working for the Russian military
In 2019, NRK reported that fishermen from the Norwegian county of Finnmark spotted a beluga whale with a harness on it near their boat that had the words “Equipment from St. Petersburg” written on it in English. The sailors noted that the whale responded well to people, played ball with them and allowed itself to be petted. After that, it circled the boat a few times and swam away. According to Norwegian scientists, the animal could have belonged to the Russian Navy.
Later, Norway suggested that the animal was a whale specially trained by the Russian army that had escaped from its “owners.” Satellite images of pens, presumably for dolphins and whales, near coastal military bases in Murmansk were published as confirmation.
The whale settled in the Hammerfest harbor and began to feed on its own. Due to the habit it had formed towards people, it did not swim far, but ate at fish farms and played with tourists in boats.
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Animal rights activists announced a contest to name the beluga whale. As a result, the majority voted for Hvaldimir, a combination of the name of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Norwegian word hval, which translates as “whale.”
The military learned to use marine animals more than half a century ago
The USSR and the USA developed programs for using marine animals for military purposes after World War II. Animals were trained for protection and search. Thus, dolphins, seals and belugas were trained to search for various objects on the seabed, conduct underwater filming, identify and destroy enemy reconnaissance divers. Animals were also used as underwater saboteurs, preparing them for the role of kamikaze: a mine was attached to the dolphin’s back, which it had to deliver to the bottom of a ship or the hull of a submarine and activate there, destroying not only the enemy, but also itself.
The first stations for training marine animals in the USSR were established in the detachments of underwater anti-sabotage forces and means (UAS) of the Soviet Army. The study of the possibilities of using marine mammals in warfare was systematically carried out in Sevastopol since 1965. In the early 1990s, dolphin training was stopped, but resumed in our time. In the USA, only one training center for combat dolphins is known in San Diego (California).
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