People think that the Beluga whale in the viral video, which shows the adorable sea creature playing catch with South African rugby fans, may be Hvaldimir – the famous and very friendly Russian Spy.
The clip shows the beluga whale catching the ball before bringing it back to the vessel for his ‘friends’ to throw again.
Even though there is no doubt that the video is adorably cute, people have been quick to mention that the whale appeared to be so thin.
Ferris Jabr, a science writer for Scientific American and The New York Times, said: “This is likely Hvaldimir, a once captive whale who may have escaped a Russian military programme.
“Alone, malnourished, and injured, [Hvaldimir] roams the seas, seeking food & attention from people.”
According to The Independent, researcher of aquatic animals, Quad Finn also said: “Hvaldimir was taken from the ocean and trained by humans to do tricks like fetching objects in exchange for food.
“That he’s malnourished and still dependent on humans for food are likely reasons for what appears to be ‘playful’ behaviour.”
Hvaldimir is tame and very friendly, and he seems to love interacting with humans. Last month, he was caught on camera retrieving a tourist’s camera from the ocean after it was accidentally dropped.
Fortunately, the GoPro was on and the whole event was recorded. In the video, Hvaldimir looked into the camera and accidentally knocked it off.
He then grabbed the in his mouth and took it back to the surface. How cute!
Hvaldimir first made headlines in April 2019 when he was spotted near northern Norway with a harness attached to his body. It had a label that said ‘Equipment of Saint Petersburg.’
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