The white beluga dubbed ‘Hvaldimir’ was first spotted in 2019 and thought to be Russian File photo: A white whale dubbed Hvaldimir likes to approach boats © Wikipedia
The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries has warned the residents of Oslo to keep their distance from the white whale who appears to have chosen the fjord as his permanent home after traveling down the coast of Norway in 2019.
fisheries director Frank Bakke-Jensen said on Wednesday.
Norway considers beluga whales a protected species. Bakke-Jensen believes the whale a densely populated area that raises the risk of injury due to human contact. He said that Hvaldimir has suffered from contact with boats before.
The whale first attracted attention in April 2019, when it appeared on the northern coast of Norway and kept approaching fishermen’s boats. The marine mammal had worn a camera harness labeled ‘Equipment St. Petersburg’, leading to speculation that it was a
The friendly whale was soon dubbed Hvaldimir, after the Norwegian word for whale and the play on the name of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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That has not stopped the online jokes about Hvaldimir’s spy mission for Moscow, especially since the USS Gerald Ford, a US Navy nuclear-powered supercarrier, has also just arrived at Oslo harbor.
Norwegian authorities seem content to let Hvaldimir roam free for the time being.
said Bakke-Jensen.
