Hvaldimir near a salmon farm in the fjords off the coast of Stavanger, Norway, in Nov. Conor McDonnell
Whale stories are abundant in these pages partly because they are charismatic and tend to evoke joy, but also because they serve as a barometer for how well we are caring for the planet. Here is one more story, as intriguing as any we have linked to before, for the mix:
After escaping captivity, Hvaldimir took up residence in Hammerfest, Norway, where he quickly became an international celebrity. Joakim Eskildsen/Institute, for The New York Times
Hvaldimir escaped captivity and became a global celebrity. Now, no one can agree about what to do with him.
On April 26, 2019, a beluga whale appeared near Tufjord, a village in northern Norway, immediately alarming fishermen in the area. Belugas in that part of the world typically inhabit the remote Arctic and are rarely spotted as far south as the Norwegian mainland. Although they occasionally travel solo, they tend to live and move in groups. This particular whale was entirely alone and unusually comfortable around humans, trailing boats and opening his mouth as though expecting to be fed. And he seemed to be tangled in rope.
When a commercial fisherman named Joar Hesten got a closer look, he realized that the whale was in fact wearing a harness: one strap girdling his neck and another gripping his torso just behind his flippers. Hesten contacted a local scientist, and word eventually reached the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, which dispatched an inspector, Jorgen Ree Wiig. After several failed attempts by Wiig and a colleague to free the beluga while onboard a dinghy, Hesten put on an immersion suit and plunged into the water. Though the whale was not quite as hefty as an average adult male of his species, he was still a formidable presence, by best estimates close to 14 feet long and about 2,700 pounds. Swimming beside him, Hesten managed to unclasp one of the straps. Together, they used a grappling-hook-like device to remove the rest of the stubborn harness.
A few days later, the beluga followed a boat to Hammerfest, one of the northernmost towns in the world, where he took up residence, frequently interacting with people in the harbor. News of the friendly white whale spread quickly. In early May, a video of the beluga went viral, eventually earning a spot on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” In it, several young women stand on a dock in Hammerfest, speaking excitedly with their hands outstretched just above the water. The beluga levitates to the surface in an upright position, as smooth, plump and silent as a balloon. There is something in his mouth — something rectangular. “Oh, my God!” one woman exclaims as the whale returns a smartphone her friend dropped in the sea. The women cheer and caress the whale, whose mouth continues to hang open. Later viral videos would show him stealing (and returning) a kayaker’s GoPro and playing fetch with a rugby ball. By midsummer, he had become an international celebrity, drawing large groups of tourists.
Read the whole article here.
Organikos 