A whale wearing a harness spotted in the open waters around Hammerfest, Norway, was suspected to be trained by the Russian navy. But he has since been freed from the harness and continues to linger nearby.
So when Ina Mansika and friends were in the area the other day, they decided to see if they could spot the alleged former spy whale. The beluga whale happened to be there, but as Ina leaned over the dock to greet him, her phone slipped out of her jacket pocket.
She assumed her cell phone was gone forever when something pretty incredible happened. And it was all captured on video that you can see below (click on the Instagram post to play):
The friendly whale actually returned to the surface after snatching the woman’s phone and gave it back to her! They couldn’t believe it. The phone ended up being permanently damaged from the water, but it’s the thought that counts! 😉
People aren’t sure if maybe the beluga whale is too dependant on others to live on his own in the wild now as a result of his training, and it’s being looked into. The Washington Post talks of a plan being considered in which the whale would be relocated to a sanctuary in Iceland.
