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Whale found off Norway’s coast believed to be spying for Russia

Thar she blows — her cover!

A group of Norwegian fishermen spotted a beluga whale they believe was on an international espionage mission.

Fisherman Joar Hesten told a local television station that he was off the coast of a small Norwegian village last week when the whale charged toward them while wearing a curious apparatus on its head.

“It came over to us, and as it approached, we saw that it had some sort of harness on it,” fisherman Joar Hesten told broadcaster NRK.

The unusual harness — which appeared to be able to secure a camera or a weapon — was sporting a buckle that read “Equipment of St. Petersburg.”

The accessory — and the fact that the fish was tugging at straps and ropes on their vessel — lead marine experts in Norway to believe the Russian navy could be training whales as an underwater surveillance team, according to Norwegian broadcasting.

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The beluga whale off the northern coast of Norway
The whale in the harnessAP
Norwegian fisherman Joar Hesten tries to attract the whale.
Norwegian fisherman Joar Hesten tries to attract the whale.AP
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The harness that was removed from the whale.
The harness that was removed from the whale.Jørgen Ree Wiig/Fiskeridirektoratet
The harness's buckle, with the words 'equipment' and 'St. Petersburg'
The harness's buckle, with the words 'equipment' and 'St. Petersburg'Jørgen Ree Wiig/Fiskeridirektoratet
A hook that was recovered at the same time as the harness.
A hook that was recovered at the same time as the harness.Jørgen Ree Wiig/Fiskeridirektoratet
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Joergen Ree Wiig holds the harness after it was removed from the whale.
Joergen Ree Wiig holds the harness after it was removed from the whale.AP
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“If this whale comes from Russia – and there is great reason to believe it – then it is not Russian scientists, but rather the navy that has done this,” said Martin Biuw of the Institute of Marine Research in Norway.

Audun Rikardsen, a professor at the Department of Arctic and Marine Biology at the Arctic University of Norway, said he thinks “it is most likely that the Russian navy in Murmansk” is involved.

“We know that in Russia they have had domestic whales in captivity and also that some of these have apparently been released,” he said. “Then they often seek out boats.”

with Post Wires