A beluga whale made famous for suspicions that he was a Russian spy has been found dead off the coast of Norway.
The whale, known as “Hvaldimir,” was once the subject of international intrigue after he was spotted in 2019 wearing a harness near Russian waters.
Hvaldimir was discovered floating in Risavika Bay by a father and son who were fishing.
Hvaldimir, whose name is a blend of the Norwegian word for whale, “hval,” and Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s first name, was retrieved from the water by crane and taken to a nearby harbor for examination.
In this photo taken in April 2019 a beluga whale found in Arctic Norway is fed.
Jorgen Ree Wiig, Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries/AP
The cause of death remains unclear, though initial observations revealed no significant external injuries, according to marine biologist Sebastian Strand.
Strand, who has tracked Hvaldimir’s movements for the past three years with the Norway-based Marine Mind organization, expressed shock at the whale’s sudden demise.
“It’s absolutely horrible,” Strand told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. “He seemed to be in good condition just the day before. We need to determine what happened.”
The 14-foot, 2,700-pound beluga first gained attention when fishermen near Norway’s northern island of Ingøya spotted him in April 2019.
Hvaldimir was wearing a harness that appeared designed to hold a camera, along with a buckle marked “Equipment St. Petersburg.”
This fueled speculation that the whale had been trained by the Russian military, possibly as part of the navy’s marine mammal program.
Over the years, Hvaldimir became a familiar sight along Norway’s coast, known for his playful interactions with locals.
He was particularly responsive to human hand signals, suggesting he had been accustomed to human contact, possibly while in captivity in Russia.
Norwegian media have speculated that Hvaldimir might have been used as a therapy animal in Russia, though no official confirmation has ever been made.
It is not the only time Russia has been accused of using marine animals.
Last year, reports suggested that Russia had doubled the number of specially trained dolphins deployed to protect its Black Sea Fleet and annexed Crimea from Ukrainian attacks.
In 2020 North Korea was accused of training dolphins for military purposes, following similar programs already developed in the U.S. and Russia.
The U.S. Naval Institute (USNI) said satellite images showed a dolphin training facility at a naval base in Nampo, on the west coast of the country.
However, the institute also says the pens could be “some type of fish farm.”
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
