A whale, an apprentice spy, discovered off the coast of Norway
(B2) A Norwegian fishing boat had an unusual encounter with a whale last Thursday in the far north of the country. The white whale was equipped with a curious harness, camera type
It was three Norwegian fishermen who made the discovery, says Norwegian television NRK. Joar Hesten was fishing with his father and brother off Finnmark, the region of Lapland closest to Arctic Norway, when the whale approached the boat.
An animal equipped with a Go Pro system?
The pet " was tamed accustomed to receiving food from humans. He approached without fear or sign of animosity from the fishermen. But, she had a harness. “As we approached, we saw that there was a kind of harness. » The harness was even equipped with a Go Pro camera type support, the camera having been able to tear off under water.
A method that is not the work of scientists
« This is not a method used by scientists and as far as I know Russian scientists do not tag white whales” confirms Martin Biuw from the Marine Research Institute interviewed by our Norwegian colleagues. “If it came from Russia, it was not Russian scientists, but the navy that did it ».
A harness from the Russian Navy...
This equipment does not come from not norwegian scientists confirms Audun Rikardsen, professor at the Department of Marine and Arctic Biology at the Norwegian Arctic University in Tromsø. And to point the finger at neighboring Russia. " I have been in contact with Russian researchers and they can confirm that they are doing nothing. They tell me that the Russian Navy in Murmansk is most likely behind this. “And to add:” We know that in Russia there are domestic whales in captivity and some of them have apparently been released »
The specialized center in Murmansk
The Institute of Marine Biology in Murmansk, in the Barents Sea, is indeed a recognized place for testing and training, in secret, various marine mammals - mainly seals, but also dolphins and belugas or white whales - to military uses, as explained last summer Elena Koudriavtseva of the Russian newspaper translated in International mail
(NGV)
