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May 30 (UPI) -- A beluga whale, believed to have been trained for surveillance by the Russian military, has been spotted off the coast of Sweden, according to advocates who track the whale.When Hvaldimir was first observed by Norwegian fisherman in 2019, he was wearing a harness, which was removed from his body. The harness reportedly had markings reading "Equipment of St. Petersburg."Norwegian Intelligence told the BBC it believes Hvaldimir was trained by the Russian military,

The surprising ‘belwhal’ DNA reveals beluga-narwhal hybrid by Philip Robinson This article is from Creation 41(4):19, October 2019 Three unusual-looking whales were caught in Greenland by Inuit hunters in the late 1980s—unlike any the Inuit had ever seen. Each was an even grey colour, with flippers like those of belugas, and tails like those of narwhals. One of their skulls was preserved; a DNA study has now identified it as a first-generation hybrid between a male beluga and a female narwhal—a ‘belwhal’. One of their skulls was preserved; a DNA study has now identified it as a first-generation hybrid between...

Did A Deadly Fire Break Out On A Secret Russian Spy Sub? Here's What We Know About 'Losharik' By Mike Eckel July 02, 2019 It's one of the more unique, more capable, and more distinctive vessels in Russia's naval fleet. And it now appears to hold the distinction of being the latest Russian naval ship to suffer a catastrophic -- and, so far, unexplained -- incident. Russia's Defense Ministry said on July 2 that a submarine operated by its main naval research and development unit had suffered a fire on board, killing 14 sailors. The ship was reportedly operating in...

(CNN)Fishermen off Norway's northern coast were astonished last week when they spotted a beluga whale wearing a harness, complete with mounts for a camera. And according to marine experts, the mammal's backstory may be even stranger: They believe it was trained by the Russian military. Fishermen Joar Hesten was the first to encounter the whale, off the coast of Finnmark, a county in northeastern Norway. Hesten then contacted the country's Directorate of Fisheries. The whale was friendly and playful, witnesses said. Jorgen Ree Wiig, a marine biologist at the directorate, told CNN: "The whale seemed playful but our instincts said...

A band of beluga whales took in a lost narwhal and made it one of their own, researchers said after discovering the lone whale swimming and playing with its new friends. The narwhal was discovered in the St. Lawrence River, more than 620 miles from its normal habitat, swimming with about dozen of St. Lawrence River belugas. Narwhals normally live in the Arctic near Canada, Greenland, Russia and Norway, CBC News reported. GREMM said the narwhal was believed to be a juvenile, swimming with mostly male belugas. "It behaves like it was one of the boys," Robert Michaud, the president...

The super-transporter is one of the largest aircraft in existence, six meters longer and one meter wider than its predecessor, the BelugaST transporter. The flight, which took-off from Blagnac in Toulouse, signified the start of a 10-month testing period before the plane can start flying commercially. Typically, the Beluga series has been used by Airbus to transport aircraft wings from factories to its assembly lines in Europe. One wing factory is sited at Hawarden airport in North Wales. To allow the supersized plane to land, Hawarden is erecting new blast fences and resurfacing its runway.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska's Cook Inlet beluga whales were correctly listed as endangered, a federal judge ruled earlier this week, rejecting a state lawsuit that claimed the listing will hurt economic development. Judge Royce C. Lambeth of U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., said the National Marine Fisheries Service properly followed requirements of the Endangered Species Act and used the best science available in making its determination. Cook Inlet beluga whales did not bounce back after a decade, despite a ban on subsistence hunting blamed for depleting their numbers, he said. "When the best available science predicts that a recently...

A beluga whale saved a drowning diver by hoisting her to the surface, carrying her leg in its mouth. Terrified Yang Yun thought she was going to die when her legs were paralyzed by crippling cramps in arctic temperatures. Competitors had to sink to the bottom of an aquarium's 20-foot arctic pool and stay there for as long as possible with the beluga whales at Polar Land in Harbin, north east China. Beluga whale Mila had spotted her difficulties and using her sensitive dolphin-like nose guided Yun safely to the surface.

Anchorage, Alaska - Governor Sarah Palin announced today that the State of Alaska filed a notice of intent to file a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s decision to list beluga whales in Cook Inlet as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. “The State of Alaska has worked cooperatively with the federal government to protect and conserve beluga whales in Cook Inlet,” said Governor Palin. “This listing decision didn’t take those efforts into account as required by law.” The notice of the state’s intent to sue was sent to the Secretary of Commerce and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). It...

Two weeks ago, I reported here on Cryptomundo that there was a report that Russian hauled up a dead plesiosaur. Scott Corrales had forwarded the story to us here at Cryptomundo. The story was taken with a grain of salt, as there were no corroborating photographs. Today, Cryptomundo reader 71_machone informed me that the photos were available on the website English Russia. This is what is reported there with the photos.

This creature was found by Russian soldiers on Sakhalin shoreline. Sakhalin area is situated near to Japan, it’s the most eastern part of Russia, almost 5000 miles to East from Moscow (Russia is huge). People don’t know who is it. According to the bones and teeth - it is not a fish. According to its skeleton - it’s not a crocodile or alligator. It has a skin with hair or fur. It has been said that it was taken by Russian special services for in-depth studies, and we are lucky that people who encountered it first made those photos before...

The global trade in legal caviar has been stopped by the United Nations, leaving gourmands gasping and conservationists cheering. "It's not good news. . . . I have clients who don't care about the price, they need legal caviar," said Mark Omidi, owner of the Toronto-based importer Caviar Centre. "It's the most prestigious commodity." Alarmed by the plunging number of sturgeon in the Caspian Sea, a UN agency dedicated to preserving endangered species has put the onus on wild-caviar exporting nations to prove that their conservation methods can protect the fish stocks. In the meantime, the Convention on International Trade...

EVERETT, Wash., October 13, 2003 -- Boeing [NYSE:BA] will dramatically reduce the time to move components of its new 7E7 passenger plane to final assembly from suppliers by adopting air transportation as its primary method of parts delivery. The company projects possible savings of 20 to 40 percent compared to traditional shipping methods, with delivery times of as little as one day, rather than as many as 30 days for other programs today. Such savings will allow the initial 7E7 investment in the air transportation assets to be recouped in the first few years of production. "Transporting large pieces...

One of the world's most valuable fish could be driven to extinction because an international conservation body has miscalculated how many are left in the wild. So claim fisheries scientists who are warning that flawed science is behind a decision this month to allow continued fishing of beluga sturgeon, whose caviar can fetch $3000 a kilogram. Trade in beluga and the caviar they produce is governed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. CITES believes that beluga sturgeon numbers are on the increase, reaching 11.6 million in 2002, up from 9.3 million in 2001 and 7.6 million in...