OneWhale, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was founded to safeguard and advocate for Hvaldimir, a beluga with a captive past who sought human companionship as he navigated Norway's fjords, busy harbors, and fish farms. OneWhale created Team Hvaldimir to follow his journey and help protect him from harm.

Roger Payne, Marine Mammal Scientist.

Founder of Ocean Alliance, Roger is best known for showing that the complex sound sequences of humpback whales are songs, and for showing that blue and fin whale sounds carried across oceans before ships’ traffic noise polluted all oceans. His 100+ expeditions over the past 55 years have studied every large whale species. His institute’s 5½ year, around-the-world, “Voyage of the Odyssey” measured a suite of contaminants in sperm whales globally and brought back samples from 955 sperm whales from all oceans. The Benign techniques he pioneered for studying whales are now used worldwide. His students are leaders in whale research. He has published books and papers and been the subject of, and/or written, and/or presented 40+ television documentaries, and co-directed the IMAX film Whales. His awards include a MacArthur Fellowship, a knighthood in the Netherlands, a UN "Global 500" Award, an Emmy for best interview, and Oxford University’s Dawkins Prize. (AB, 1956, Harvard Univ.; PhD, 1961, Cornell Univ.) rogerpayne.com

While Hvaldimir seems free to roam his situation is complex. He is a trained whale who has become habituated to humans. Read more about his unique plight and conditioned behaviors in a short write up.