Beluga whale returns to Hokksund after briefly heading back to sea

A rare beluga whale that had begun swimming downstream toward the ocean on Thursday evening has returned to the Hokksund area, local media report.

The whale was first spotted in the Drammenselva river near Hellefossen in Hokksund, Øvre Eiker municipality, on Thursday, drawing hundreds of onlookers. After initially moving toward the sea, it reversed direction overnight, according to regional news site DRM24.

By Friday morning, the animal was seen swimming back and forth between the local camping area and Risøra, NRK reported. “I can see the whale here now. It just surfaced, moving back and forth in the same spot,” an NRK reporter confirmed from the scene.

Audun Rikardsen, a whale researcher and professor at the University of Tromsø, urged spectators to admire the animal from land while keeping their distance. “A beluga in a river is a fantastic and unique sight. I encourage everyone to witness it,” he told Dagbladet, while warning against feeding the whale or approaching too closely by boat. “If startled, it risks running aground and becoming stranded.”

The unexpected return gives residents and visitors another opportunity to observe the marine mammal, which has traveled unusually far upstream against the river’s current.