Mysterious male beluga spotted in Scandinavian seas wearing a harness that said “Team St. Petersburg” She would not be used as a spy but rather as a “whale guard.” This is the thesis of a new documentary, which will be broadcast on Wednesday on the BBC and which reveals new information about the case that has been at the center of a great mystery for several years.
The whale became known by the name. hvaldimira play on words with Hval (Norwegian for whale) and Vladimir, the name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The animal, which was found dead a few weeks ago, was first detected in Norway in 2019 and, in 2023, it was seen again on the Swedish coast. From the beginning it was suspected that Russia was using her as a kind of “spy” on reconnaissance missions, since the harness she was wearing seemed to be made to carry a small video camera.
But that is not what the research carried out in this documentary, whose director is Jennifer Shaw, points out. Quoted by The Guardian, the documentary filmmaker states that “the latest revelations about the role for which Hvaldimir was trained bring us closer to solving the mystery.” But these revelations, says the director, “also lead to new questions about Russia’s intentions to protect the Arctic and why it does so.”
The documentary is called “Secrets of the Spy Whale” and he spent 10 months investigating the case and seeking input from those who have experience training marine mammals for military purposes. Interviewed was Blair Irvine, an American dolphin trainer who is now in his 80s and is one of the last people alive to be involved in a US Navy program that used dolphins as guard animals off the coast. from California.
Around the same time, almost 50 years ago, it is believed that the Soviet Union also had dolphin training programs and it was discovered, during the Cold War, that there was a group of dolphins patrolling the Black Sea in the Crimean area. (Ukrainian territory that was annexed by Russia in 2014). The documentary also interviewed Eve Jourdain, a whale biologist, who commented that “it was obvious that this particular beluga had been trained to put its nose on anything that looked like a target.”
Everything indicates that dolphins were used by the Soviet Union to find underwater weapons in the 1980s, under a program that ended in the 1990s, however, the Russian Ministry of Defense admitted that the country had once again used marine animals for purposes military. in polar areas.
“We knew we wanted to know more about the whale’s true identity; it’s a mystery that has captivated people around the world,” said documentary filmmaker Jennifer Shaw, adding: “It also gave us the opportunity to explore the history of the mammals.” mariners”. training in the army, something that few people are aware of as it has been shrouded in secrecy for decades and many of those who knew the truth are sadly no longer alive.”
The male beluga was found dead in Risavika Bay, southern Norway, a few weeks ago. The animal’s body was found by a man and his son who were fishing. The animal would be about 15 years old, which is not much for a species whose life expectancy can reach 60 years. The NGO Marine Mind believes that Hvaldimir had arrived in Norway from Russian waters, where he had been in captivity, a thesis that gained strength because the beluga seemed to be accustomed to human presence.
Initially it was reported that the beluga had no visible external wounds but, days later, a member of the non-governmental organization One Whale, who said he had seen Hvaldimir’s body, said that the whale “had several gunshot wounds around its body.” . “. The leader of another NGO, Noah, stated that “the injuries suffered by the whale are alarming and of a nature that does not allow a criminal act to be ruled out.”
Source: Observadora
