- Fishermen in Norway came across a Russian spy, but the interloper wouldn’t reveal its mission, and with good reason: It couldn’t, because it was a beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas).
- However, the beluga whale’s outfit gave it away. The surprisingly tame whale was wearing a harness that read “Equipment of St. Petersburg,” indicating that it was likely trained by the Russian navy to be used for special operations, according to news sources.
- But why would the Russian navy use a beluga whale for special ops — as opposed to a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) or a California sea lion (Zalophus californianus), like the U.S. Navy does? The short answer is that beluga whales are extremely intelligent, calm in difficult situations and easily trainable, said Pierre Béland, a research scientist in marine biology at the St. Lawrence National Institute of Ecotoxicology in Montreal, Canada. Béland has been studying belugas since 1982, but he wasn’t involved with this whale’s case.
- Norweigan fisherman spotted the beluga near the fishing village of Inga, along the northern coast of Norway on April 26. Later, Norweigan scientists tracked down the whale and removed its very tight harness, according to the Norweigan news outlet VG. The harness had an attachment for a GoPro camera, but there wasn’t a camera there anymore, Audun Rikardsen, a professor at The Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø (UiT), told VG.
About Beluga Whales
- Beluga whales, also called white whales, have white skin that is adapted to its habitat in the Arctic. The word “beluga” comes from the Russian word for “white.” They aren’t the same kind of white whale in “Moby-Dick,” however. That was a white sperm whale. They also are not related to the sturgeon of the same name, which is the source of a type of caviar.
- Belugas are related to another type of white whale — the “unicorn” whale known as the narwhal. However, instead of a large horn on its forehead, like the narwhal has, the beluga has a round bump called a melon. The melon is used to make many different communication sounds and facial expressions. It also aids in echolocation.
- Beluga whales are among the smallest species of whales. Adult males range from 13 to 20 feet (4 to 6.1 meters) in length and weigh 2,000 to 3,000 lbs. (907 to 1,361 kilograms)
(Live Science)
