A fisherman I know named Joar Hesten called me late in April 2019. A white whale was swimming around his boat near the northern tip of Norway. It appeared to be wrapped in a tight strap (背带), and Hesten didn’t know what to do. White whales are usually found in pods in areas with ice and glaciers — rarely alone along the Norwegian coast. As a marine (海洋的) biologist, I knew that the strap needed to be removed as soon as possible.
We contacted the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries Sea Surveillance Service. When inspector Jorgen Ree Wiig and his crew met with the fishing boat, the nearly 12-foot-long male eagerly engaged with them. He’d clearly been trained. The mystery deepened when Hesten got into the water to remove the strap. Attached to the strap was a camera mount (支架) with the words “Equipment St. Petersburg”.
A week after his discovery, Hvaldimir — the whale, followed a sailboat to Hammerfest harbor, about 25 miles from where he was first spotted. That’s where I photographed him in early May. I had traveled to Hammerfest to determine his physical condition. He was thin: He wasn’t eating on his own and seemed unlikely to survive in the wild. Later the authorities decided to feed him; his meals became daily tourist attractions in Hammerfest.
Training such a whale is expensive and time-consuming, yet no one claimed him. The Norwegian Police Security Service got on the case, and a German journalist used crowdsourcing to track the strap logo to an outdoor-equipment supplier in St Petersburg.
In June Hvaldimir left Hammerfest, in much better shape than when he arrived. Since then he has traveled along the coast of northern Norway, apparently feeding himself. Many people have opinions about what to do with Hvaldimir. Should the lone whale be placed in a dolphinarium (海豚馆), moved to a habitat, or just left to himself ? So far, he seems to be doing fine on his own.
【小题1】Why did Hesten give the author a call?| A．To respond to greetings as an old friend. |
| B．To complain about the behavior of inspectors. |
| C．To ask him how to help a trapped whale. |
| D．To tell him increasing whale numbers along the coast. |
| A．Frightened. | B．Confused. |
| C．Embarrassed. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．He was spied on by a sailboat. | B．He was attached to a new camera. |
| C．He was ordered to perform each day. | D．He was supplied with food regularly. |
| A．Keep Hvaldimir in the wild. | B．Return Hvaldimir to his owner. |
| C．Establish a reserve for Hvaldimir. | D．Invest more money in training Hvaldimir. |
