One kayaker was startled when a beluga snatched his GoPro camera, but he was even more surprised when the creature gave it back! Joachim Larssen was pulling into Hammerfest, Norway with his craft when he encountered local celebrity Hvaldimir the whale. Eager to get some close-up footage of the animal, the kayaker held the camera underwater. That’s when Hvaldimir made a grab for the device!
This incident made for a hilarious video in which you can clearly see the moment Joachim lost his camera. However, something interesting happens once the equipment sinks to the bottom. The beluga whale actually picks the GoPro back up and returns it to its owner! As Joachim continues to film, Hvaldimir looks quite proud of himself for retrieving the item.
It’s possible that this particular sea creature has seen one of these cameras before. According to The Dodo, Hvaldimir the beluga was wearing a harness meant for holding a GoPro when he first turned up in Norway. That’s part of what made him famous. Based on the harness’s label, which read “Equipment St. Petersburg,” some believe that he ran away from the Russian military!
“When he came to Hammerfest he had a GoPro harness on,” Joachim told The Dodo. “So I believe he fully knew what it was and just wanted to play around with it.”
Whether or not Hvaldimir knew what he was doing when he took the kayaker’s camera, the interaction between the two is adorable! Beluga whales are truly incredible creatures.
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.
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