The 'spy whale' you once called adorable is heading to the wrong place to find home

Four years ago, a white whale suspected of being a Russian spy attracted the attention of the world; recently, it has again caused everyone's concern - not because of "spying", but because people found that it seemed to be rushing to the wrong place to look for love .

The white whale is called Hvaldimir and was found by fishermen in Norwegian waters in April 2019. At the time, it was wearing a special harness with the words "St. Petersburg Equipment" written on it and GoPro cameras could be placed on both sides. People speculated that it might be a "spy whale" trained by the Russian Navy, and it escaped for some unknown reason.

"Hval" in Hvaldimir means whale in Norwegian, and "dimir" is a common name suffix in Russia. The Russian government has not made any statement on the "spy whale" claim. | Jorgen Ree Wiig

Hvaldimir is very friendly to humans and was praised by netizens as "smart" and "cute" for playing catch with crew members. However, it recently swam rapidly to the south where it is not suitable for survival . Its strange whereabouts once again remind people that Hvaldimir has a special background and is a lonely whale in the ocean.

Marching to the South where there is no love

Hvaldimir is probably 13 to 14 years old now. He has been moving slowly southward in Norwegian waters since he was discovered in 2019. But recently, for some reason, he suddenly accelerated southward and has now come to the southwest coast of Sweden, which is not a habitat suitable for beluga whales .

OneWhale, a nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to protecting Hvaldimir, speculated that it might be driven by hormones and looking for a mate, or it might just be looking for other beluga whales . Since researchers began tracking Hvaldimir in 2019, they have never found it in contact with its own kind. As a highly social and gregarious animal, Hvaldimir is undoubtedly a very lonely beluga whale.

Hvaldimir near the boat｜Jorgen Ree Wiig, Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries/Sea Surveillance Service

Even more heartbreaking was the fact that Hvaldimir was swimming in the wrong place, whether he was looking for a companion or a mate. Belugas are adapted to living in the high latitudes of the Arctic with cold waters, and there had never been a population of belugas in Swedish waters before .

In other words, Hvaldimir's efforts to find a lover or partner in the south may end up in vain. Scientists are also worried about whether it can find enough food in the waters so far south - Hvaldimir seems to be in good health, but he looks thinner.

Experts still don't know why Hvaldimir swam in the wrong direction. They speculate that Hvaldimir had probably been in captivity for several years , which may have weakened his natural instincts. Moreover, no one knows how Hvaldimir appeared in Norwegian waters in the first place. He may not be familiar with the area and does not know where he will reach if he swims south.

From May 2019 to March 2022, Hvaldimir has been slowly moving south | Documentary "A Tale of a Whale - Hvaldimir's Journey in Norway"

Four years of adventure, lively and lonely

Hvaldimir was found near a small town in northern Norway. Initially, it was very dependent on humans. Not only would it actively look for humans like a lost or abandoned domesticated animal, it would also play rugby with humans and pick up mobile phones that people dropped into the water.

But this is not a good thing for Hvaldimir. This dependence just shows that he has lived a life of captivity before, and the "friendly" interaction with humans is likely to just awaken the conditioned reflexes he learned during training . Scientists examined him, helped him untie the hooks and fishing lines stuck in his body, and then tried to avoid contact with him to prevent him from losing his hard-earned freedom again.

After resting for three months near the town, Hvaldimir set out on his own adventure. He had stopped in many places, and protectors and local residents worked together to keep humans away from him, not to swim with him, and not to feed him . Hvaldimir also gradually reduced his active contact with humans, but every time he set out for the next "residence", he would go to crowded places to play with everyone, and say goodbye to the local people before leaving.

Hvaldimir has never found a place he likes to live. He stayed in a small town called Kines for 6 months, following fishing boats to and from different farms every day . Fishermen would use drones to search for his location before working to ensure that fishing boats would not accidentally hurt him, and they also built fences to separate him from tourists. People thought this would be Hvaldimir's perfect long-term residence, but in May 2021, Hvaldimir was injured by the propeller of a small boat and left the town's waters a few days later.

A farm in the small town of Kines | Documentary "A Tale of a Whale - Hvaldimir's Journey in Norway"

It also once encountered a pilot whale that had lived alone for 20 years . Scientists were looking forward to it settling down with another whale. Unfortunately, Hvaldimir left again, perhaps because there were no live fish for it to hunt in the nearby fishing grounds , or perhaps because the giant whale was not its kind after all.

But no matter where he goes, Hvaldimir's favorite resting place is always the ferry and maintenance ship with catamaran shape . Scientists speculate that the double hull of the catamaran can surround it, as if there is a tribe around, providing it with a sense of security and belonging. Similar behavior has also been observed in other solitary social beluga whales.

Hvaldimir rests in the safety of his boat | Documentary A Tale of a Whale - Hvaldimir's Journey in Norway

Home

Now, where Hvaldimir will live is the biggest concern of his protectors.

In order to protect Hvaldimir, Norway has set up a special conservation organization OneWhale and recruited a team of world-renowned experts, including whale researchers, scientists and marine mammal veterinarians. The OneWhale team will regularly monitor Hvaldimir's health and keep in touch with local residents to ensure its safety.

Hvaldimir attracts a large number of curious tourists, and OneWhale will educate tourists about Hvaldimir and beluga whales. They will also intervene in tourists' uncivilized behavior , such as throwing objects at it, poking it, or putting sharp objects into its mouth, and will also stop divers or tourists who try to go into the water and play with Hvaldimir.

Hvaldimir's interactions with humans seem beautiful, but they are actually traces of his captivity and training. | Rich German/OneWhale

OneWhale is now trying to seek permission from Swedish authorities to capture Hvaldimir and relocate him to a safe fjord in Norwegian waters . If he is allowed to live in suitable and safe natural waters, Hvaldimir can hunt, forage, dive and explore in the most natural way without the interference of tourists.

OneWhale also hopes to establish a whale sanctuary around the world's most famous beluga whale in the future. If successful, it would be one of the first whale sanctuaries in the world.

Humans transformed Hvaldimir, but did not give him happiness. I hope that one day he can play freely with his companions in the sea. ｜FRED BUYLE

We may never know what happened to Hvaldimir, but in the past four years, he has fascinated and concerned people, and his survival is inseparable from humans and human fishing boats. No matter what Hvaldimir is looking for in the wrong direction, we hope that he can arrive safely, find the world and freedom that truly belongs to him, and no longer be a lonely and special whale .

Author: Bowl

Editor: Mai Mai, Xiao Towel

This article comes from GuokrNature (ID: GuokrNature)

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