'Russian spy' whale has defected to Norway, locals claim

As experts fear for its survival, Tufjord residents told not to feed beluga so that it can learn to forage

A beluga whale that may - or may not - have been trained to spy for Russia appears to have defected to Norway, refusing to stray more than a few miles from the small northern harbour where it was found on Monday and entertaining locals with tricks.

"He's so comfortable with people that when you call him he comes right up to you," Linn Sither, a resident of Tufjord on the Arctic island of Rolvsiya, told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, which has launched a poll to find a name for the mammal.