Whales are magnificent creatures of the sea and despite their mammoth size, they are actually quite docile and even friendly to humans.
Which is why it’s a tragedy that some countries still sponsor whaling activities to the point that these beautiful creatures are in danger of becoming extinct.
Still, most people just want to appreciate them for their beauty and divers often try to have close encounters with these majestic creatures. After all, nothing beats getting really close to this big mammal even if it’s big enough to swallow you whole.
Watch the video of the beluga whale below.
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Video credit: Rumble
But while most whales disinterestedly watch puny humans that come close, some get quite used to it. But one beluga whale did more than that, it even stole a kayakers GoPro and started playing with it. But that’s not the most amazing part. The whale actually went back and returned the camera to the owner once it was done playing with it!
Of course, the whale was not your ordinary beluga whale but a tame one named Hvaldimir who likes swimming in Hammerfest Bay in Norway. Diver Joachim Larssen was in the bay in his kayak when he had his amazing encounter with Hvaldimir in September 2019.
The famous whale actually came to greet Joachim and followed his kayak and even touched up against the tiny vessel. Joachim saw this as an opportunity to get some close-up footage of the inquisitive and friendly beast with his GoPro.
Hvaldimir approaches the submerged lens and promptly knocks it off Jaochim’s hand. However, the whale helpfully retries it and returns it to Joachim. After all, Hvaldimir can’t allow such beautiful close-up shots of him go to waste.
Joachim said: “I wanted to film him underwater and I think he knows what a GoPro it is so he takes it from me and drops it before he goes down to get it for me.
“I know he is probably trained by the Russians and that he was found with a GoPro harness.
“I was surprised and didn’t want to touch him in the start since I normally don’t touch wild animals unless I’m helping it.
“But in this case, I made an exception due to how much he wanted the contact, it was magical to meet him like this!”
Replaced!