Norway has given asylum to a former Russian "spy whale" after it shored up in their waters with so-called "equipment" straight from the heart of the motherland.
Initially making contact with a series of fishing boats in 2019, a beluga whale named Hvaldimir broke from Russian territory to make a daring escape.
Wearing a tight harness stamped with “equipment of St Petersburg”, the whale went viral and in doing so the Norwegian Government has decided to house the defector of Vladimir Putin's military.
READ MORE: Russia 'deployed military dolphins to protect Black Sea base', satellite images show
Decisions made for the safety of the animal come as a charity claimed Hvaldimir, who was friendly with tourists, would struggle in international waters.
His struggle would not be because he is presumably on Russia's aquatic wanted list, but because his familiarity with people and training puts him in a difficult spot in the wild.
Salmon farmers put Agent Hvaldimir under threat, as conservationists worry he may be trapped by nets, eating fish attracted by bait or being a nuisance to fishermen.
Former property mogul Adam Thorpe, founder of charity OneWhale, is set to give Hvaldimir a place of permanent residency, reasoning that everyone has "fallen in love" with the former Russian spy.
Thorpe said: "I thought, well, if we could create a sanctuary or a reserve, which protects the whale from boat traffic, it means that he can fish for himself and live as natural a life as possible."
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His goal on a larger scale is to take in a number of whales trained by humans and used in captivity, giving them a safer environment to live in.
So-called "spy whale" Hvaldimir, for instance, will now be housed in a tank, which Thorpe believes is a better alternative than letting him out in the wild, The Guardian reported.
While not quite the robo-agent Jones from Johnny Mnemonic was, Hvaldimir did manage quite the daring escape from Russian waters, soon finding itself in the safer seas of Norway.
Charity founder Thorpe added: "By telling the story of this whale we can also offer a reserve to other formerly captive whales.
"There are no salmon farms on the reserve and there are no boats coming in and out, eliminating the risk of propeller injuries."
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