Fishermen in Norway were lost for words when they spotted a white whale which appeared to be wearing 'military gear'.
The stunned sailors captured the moment the Beluga Whale approached their boat wearing a harness, which had 'Equipment of St. Petersburg' written across it.
According to Norwegian media organisation NRK, marine experts have said they believe this was a specially-trained whale, working as part of the Russian navy to carry out secret underwater military operations.
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Experts said the animal's odd behaviour around the boats, along with its harness, have given them cause to believe it must have been trained by the Russian navy.
The fishermen told reporters the whale continued to pursue their vessel and tried to pull the ropes from their boats' sides whenever they entered the water.
Speaking to NRK, Joar Hesten said: "We were going to put out nets when we saw a whale swimming between the boats.
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"It came over to us, and as it approached, we saw that it had some sort of harness on it."
Experts told the press that while it's not uncommon for whales to be kept in captivity for scientific research, it is unlikely they would be wearing a harness - unless it was designed to attach a camera or a weapon too.
Martin Biuw, head of the University of Tromso's Institute of Marine Research, told Norwegian press that he believed the harness had been placed on the whale by the Russian Navy.
It seems the sea has carried all manner of surprises recently. Earlier this month, fishermen in Japan picked up an enormous great white shark after it choked to death on a sea turtle.
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Fisherman Greg Vella recounted how he came across the beast in a post on Facebook: "I was out commercial 'Ken Ken' style fishing for tuna when I heard chatter on the radio that there was a white shark swimming around with a big sea turtle in its mouth.
"People started to joke about it, so I did not pay it any more attention. Then next day, it was found dead, near the bait receivers, tangled in some netting.
"The captains I interviewed, who saw the mighty shark the day before, said it looked close to death as it could not dislodge the giant turtle.
"The commercial guys were bummed as white sharks do not bother their commercial fishing, and most certainly do bother the things that eat our catch."
Featured Image Credit: NRKTopics: World News, Interesting, Whale, Animals, Russia