It was on Sunday evening that the residents of Sotenäs were unexpectedly visited by a white whale. The whale had The whale had swum to Hunnebostrand where it got stuck in a tamp.
– We had to untie the tampon so it came loose and could move freely, said Hjalmar Sporrong, who participated in the rescue operation.
Became famous in Norway
Now the organization Onewhale writes that the whale may be the well-known “Hvaldimir”, which became famous in 2019 after being seen in Norwegian Finnmark, which P4 West was the first to tell about.
– With a very high probability it is. This organization has been following the whales for a long time and the fact that we have a beluga whale seeking contact in Swedish waters is very unusual, says Susanne Viker.
In Norway, hundreds of articles have been written about the fate of beluga whales. When it was first targeted in 2019, it was equipped with a camera harness and there has since been extensive speculation as to whether it was a trained “Russian spy whale”.
The information has never been confirmed, and according to NRK, the Norwegian PST (the equivalent of Säpo) investigated the matter but concluded that the beluga was probably not trained as a spy.
Military trained
According to Patrik Hulterström, former attack diver and today teacher and doctoral student at the Swedish Armed Forces, mammals such as beluga whales can be militarily trained, but then mainly to detect dangerous objects. If this white whale is military trained, however, he cannot answer.
– As far as I know, they are used to protect special facilities and areas by looking for mines or other dangerous objects, what purpose this beluga whale would have here if it was militarily trained, I actually don’t know, says Patrik Hulterström.
Discussing with experts
How the Norwegian Maritime and Water Authority will handle beluga whales is currently unclear, as the authority has no administrative responsibility for beluga whales.
– Right now we are having a discussion with experts about and how we should act, says Susanne Viker.