"Russian Spy" Beluga Whale Returns Woman's Phone In Norway

It wasn't so long ago that a mysterious whale turned up in the open waters in Norway, reported to be a "Russian spy".

The Beluga whale, wearing a harness with a camera attached, is thought to have escaped from the Russian Navy before being discovered in the Norwegian ocean according to marine experts.

A post shared by ISA OPDAHL LARSSON ' 21 (@isa.opdahl) on May 5, 2019 at 9:20am PDT

Now, the whale is back in the spotlight after a group of friends captured incredible footage of what appears to be the very same animal in Hammerfest, Norway.

Not only did it pop to the water's surface to say hello, but it showed off its thoughtful side when local woman Ina Mansika accidentally dropped her phone into the water.

Speaking to The Dodo, Ina said: "We laid down on the dock to look at it and hopefully get the chance to pat it. I had forgotten to close my jacket pocket and my phone fell in the ocean.

"We assumed it would be gone forever, until the whale dove back down and came back a few moments later with my phone in its mouth!"

It happens to the best of us - we just normally end up dropping our phones down the toilet or a drain, where there aren't spy whales to try to protect us.

Ina was thrilled, saying: "Everyone was so surprised. We almost didn't believe what we saw. I was super happy and thankful that I got my phone back." While her phone doesn't actually work anymore, Ina is still grateful.

"I love animals! The whale is so kind," she added.

Ina posted a video on Instagram which appears to show the whale returning her phone, captioned "when animals are kinder than humans."

Speaking about the so-called 'spy whale' last week, marine professor Audun Rikardse told local newspaper NRK: "We know that in Russia they have had domestic whales in captivity and also that some of these have apparently been released. Then they often seek out boats."

If you want to go and see the whale, you'll have to hurry - it's allegedly being relocated to a sanctuary in Iceland as it's become too accustomed to humans to thrive in the wild.

Topics: Cute, Animals

Marianne Eloise

Marianne writes about TV, film and internet culture for Nylon, VICE, The Guardian, Vulture, Time Out and more. She was previously a staff writer at Dazed.