Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Enigmatic Beluga Whale off Norway so Tame People Can Pet It
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
April 30, 2019

Share

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A beluga whale found in Arctic Norway wearing a harness that suggests links to a military facility in Russia is so tame that residents can pet the mammal on its nose.

“It is a fantastic experience, but we also see it as a tragedy. We can see that it has been trained to bring back stuff that is thrown at sea.” — Linn Saether, resident
The white whale found frolicking in the frigid harbor of Tufjord, a hamlet near Norway’s northernmost point, has become “a huge attraction” for locals, one resident said Tuesday. The whale is so comfortable with people that it swims to the dock and retrieves plastic rings thrown into the sea.
“The whale is so tame that when you call it, it comes to you,” said Linn Saether, adding the whale also reacts to yells and when humans splash their hands in the water.
She said when she throws out a plastic ring, the Beluga whale brings it back to her as she sits on the dock.
“It is a fantastic experience, but we also see it as a tragedy. We can see that it has been trained to bring back stuff that is thrown at sea,” Saether, 37, told The Associated Press.
The whale was found with a tight harness reading “Equipment St. Petersburg” in English. The hamlet has a dozen permanent residents and less than 100 people in the warmer season.
“The talk in this hamlet is that it could have escaped from a Russian military facility or even have swam from St. Petersburg, Florida, because of the English-language text,” Saether said.
Photo of beluga whale with a harness around his neck
A beluga whale seen as it swims next to a fishing boat before Norwegian fishermen removed the tight harness, swimming off the northern Norwegian coast Friday, April 26, 2019. The harness strap which features a mount for an action camera, says “Equipment St. Petersburg” which has prompted speculation that the animal may have escaped from a Russian military facility. (Joergen Ree Wiig/Norwegian Direcorate of Fisheries Sea Surveillance Unit via AP)

A Fisherman Jumped Into the Frigid Arctic Water to Remove the Harness

It was not immediately known whether any of the dolphin and whale facilities in St. Petersburg, Florida, were missing a Beluga whale.

“Even if there are military programs for using marine animals for navy purposes, they are unlikely to be belugas, and such animals are unlikely to be released into the open ocean.” Mikhail Barabanov, a Russian naval analyst 
On Friday, a fisherman jumped into the frigid Arctic water to remove the harness, which has a mount for a camera, from the whale. It wasn’t clear why the strap was attached to the mammal.
Audun Rikardsen, a professor at the Department of Arctic and Marine Biology at the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsoe, northern Norway, said he believes “it is most likely that Russian Navy in Murmansk” was involved.
Murmansk is the headquarters for Russia’s Northern Fleet, the single most powerful fleet in the Russian navy. The city is located on the Kola Peninsula, in far northwestern Russia close to the Norwegian border.
Russian authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the whale.
But Mikhail Barabanov, a Russian naval analyst at the Moscow-based Center for the Analysis of Strategies and Technologies think tank, downplayed any links to the Russian military.
“Even if there are military programs for using marine animals for navy purposes, they are unlikely to be belugas, and such animals are unlikely to be released into the open ocean,” he told AP in an email.
“I think that these Norwegian idiots simply robbed certain Petersburg zoologists” who were trying to track whales, Barabanov said.

DON'T MISS

Hungary to Exit ICC as Netanyahu Visits Amid Arrest Warrant Dispute

DON'T MISS

Rubio Visits NATO Amid European Alarm Over Trump’s Agenda

DON'T MISS

Dow Drops 1,200 as US Stock Market Leads a Worldwide Sell-off Following Trump’s Tariff Shock

DON'T MISS

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

DON'T MISS

Supreme Court Sides With the FDA in Its Dispute Over Sweet-Flavored Vaping Products

DON'T MISS

Trump Announces Sweeping New Tariffs to Promote US Manufacturing, Risking Inflation and Trade Wars

DON'T MISS

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

DON'T MISS

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

DON'T MISS

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

DON'T MISS

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

UP NEXT

Rubio Visits NATO Amid European Alarm Over Trump’s Agenda

UP NEXT

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

UP NEXT

Western US Sees Sharp Increase in Extreme Weather Impact

UP NEXT

7-Year-Old Girl Was Killed by a Falling Boulder at a Lake Tahoe Ski Resort

UP NEXT

Israel’s Operations in Gaza Expands to Seize ‘Large Areas.’ Palestinians Say Dozens Killed

UP NEXT

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

UP NEXT

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

UP NEXT

UN Agency Closes Its Remaining Gaza Bakeries as Food Supplies Dwindle Under Israeli Blockade

UP NEXT

Lakers Hold Off Rockets With 6 3-Pointers Apiece From Dorian Finney-Smith, Gabe Vincent

UP NEXT

Athletics Bat Boy Stewart Thalblum Takes Down Drone in Left Field

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

13 hours ago

Supreme Court Sides With the FDA in Its Dispute Over Sweet-Flavored Vaping Products

17 hours ago

Trump Announces Sweeping New Tariffs to Promote US Manufacturing, Risking Inflation and Trade Wars

18 hours ago

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

18 hours ago

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

19 hours ago

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

19 hours ago

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

19 hours ago

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

20 hours ago

Why Project Labor Agreements Are Good for Our Schools and Students: Opinion

20 hours ago

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

20 hours ago

Hungary to Exit ICC as Netanyahu Visits Amid Arrest Warrant Dispute

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungary will start the process to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, an official said Thursday, just as Isr...

10 minutes ago

Hungary’s ICC withdrawal aligns with Netanyahu’s defiance of his arrest warrant, straining EU relations and raising global concerns.
10 minutes ago

Hungary to Exit ICC as Netanyahu Visits Amid Arrest Warrant Dispute

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during the International Women of Courage Awards Ceremony at the Department of State in Washington on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. Rubio traveled to Brussels on Thursday for a gathering of NATO foreign ministers amid high anxiety over the Trump administration’s approach to Europe, including the war in Ukraine, relations with Russia and President Trump’s growing trade war with the continent. (Maansi Srivastava/The New York Times)
15 minutes ago

Rubio Visits NATO Amid European Alarm Over Trump’s Agenda

20 minutes ago

Dow Drops 1,200 as US Stock Market Leads a Worldwide Sell-off Following Trump’s Tariff Shock

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., center, is joined from left by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., as they speak to reporters about President Donald Trump's tariffs on foreign countries, at the Capitol, in Washington, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
13 hours ago

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

17 hours ago

Supreme Court Sides With the FDA in Its Dispute Over Sweet-Flavored Vaping Products

18 hours ago

Trump Announces Sweeping New Tariffs to Promote US Manufacturing, Risking Inflation and Trade Wars

A young Labrador mix rescued from a Fresno canal on Sunday, March 2, 2025, is thriving in a foster home after overcoming fear and trauma. (Instagram/Fresno Animal Center)
18 hours ago

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

19 hours ago

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend