Beluga whale "spy" suspected of Russian ties found dead

Off the coast of Norway, fishermen found a drifting beluga whale. It soon turned out to be Hvaldimir, the whale suspected of being a Russian spy.

Hvaldimir first appeared off the coast of Norway in April 2019. Fishermen noticed he was wearing a tight harness, which he was trying to remove by rubbing against the ship's hull.

Norwegian fishermen removed this harness from the beluga. It had a mount for a GoPro camera and a label indicating that the mammal belonged to St. Petersburg. However, the camera was not found with the harness.

This unusual harness and the writing on it led to suspicions that the friendly mammal was a Russian spy. For years, it has been known that the Russian military trains these animals for their purposes.

For many years, the beluga whale was seen in several coastal towns in Norway and Sweden. It quickly became apparent that he was very tame and liked to play with people.

Organizations dedicated to whale conservation advocated for moving Hvaldimir (the name is a combination of two words: "hval," which means whale in Norwegian, and "Vladimir," from Putin's name) to a marine reserve off the coast of Norway. They wanted to give him "political asylum" and take care of him for the rest of his days. However, this ultimately did not happen. The beluga lived in the wild and managed quite well.

What caused his death? It is not known. No external injuries were detected on the animal's body.

– He was a young healthy male – said the veterinarian who examined Hvaldimir once a year in an interview with Norwegian radio. – I hope his death is not related to human activity – he added.

The beluga whale is a marine mammal from the narwhal family. It is known for its white coloration and characteristic "smiling" face. It is a very intelligent mammal and is easily trained.

These animals live in the wild for 30 to even 50 years.