On November 6, Facebook user Alon Kowen shared a video of cute Beluga whale playing fetch with a 2019 Rugby World Cup ball and it quickly became viral. According to NY Post, he captioned it, “Beluga Whale celebrating the Springboks victory somewhere close to the South Pole!”
However, on November 9, Science writer Ferris Jabr put forth a theory that the whale might actually be Hvaldimir, a lost Russian spy.
The viral video of a "wild" beluga playing fetch is not what it seems. This is likely Hvaldimir, a once captive whale who may have escaped a Russian military program. Alone, malnourished, and injured, H. roams the seas, seeking food & attention from people https://t.co/GcvFcT4O8k
— Ferris Jabr (@ferrisjabr) November 9, 2019
He reveals that the sea-creature was first spotted in Norway with a harness bearing the words “Equipment of St. Petersburg”. Thereafter, he was seen by various boat-riders and even returned a woman’s dropped phone.
Furthermore, when Alon Kowen was contacted for the original source of the video, he said he got it from a WhatsApp group as he was friends with people at Danah Explorer Yacht (the marine vessel in the video). Ferris Jabr believes that the location of the video was more likely near the North Pole.
The Independent reports that Cetacean Researcher Quad Finn and zoologist Darren Naish also corroborated the theory.
This appears to be ‘Hvaldimir’; he’s a former Russian captive beluga that now lives in the waters off Hammerfest, Norway. https://t.co/iaAXaQ6Qnf
— Quad Finn (@Quad_Finn) November 7, 2019
Playing catch with a whale: it wasn't a wild beluga. It was the trained Russian spy beluga Hvladimir. Hvladimir has gone viral on social media a bunch of times already.
— Darren Naish (@TetZoo) November 9, 2019
It is still unknown if the beluga was used for therapy, research or sea-warfare but experts believe his time in captivity has made him dependent on humans which is why he hasn’t joined a wild pod yet.
The evidence suggests Hvaldimir's recovery has been somewhat uneven & that he does not always stay in Hammerfest. As recently as Sep there were reports he was eating sporadically, injured, & mistreated in some of the places he visited https://t.co/fy2EW5cn26 Still much to learn
— Ferris Jabr (@ferrisjabr) November 10, 2019
This just goes to show that appearances can often be deceptive and sometimes an adorable viral video can have a dark and unfortunate backstory.