Cause of death revealed for Hvaldimir, the Russian-trained whale
The Norwegian police have reported that Hvaldimir, the white whale spotted five years ago in Norwegian waters and found dead on August 31st, died due to a stick lodged in its mouth. The death of the animal was not related to human activity.
Hvaldimir's body, floating in the water, was discovered a week ago by a father and son fishing in southern Norway. The name Hvaldimir comes from the Norwegian word "hval," meaning whale, and the name of Vladimir Putin.
Hvaldimir, a beluga whale, gained media attention in 2019 when it approached fishermen in the Norwegian Sea wearing a harness with camera mounts and the inscription "St Petersburg equipment." It is suspected that the Russian navy trained it for espionage tasks.
The Norwegian police launched an investigation following reports from two animal rights organizations, One Whale and NOAH, which suspected that the whale had been shot.
Shocking autopsy results
The autopsy revealed that a stick 36 centimetres long and 2.5 centimetres wide was lodged in Hvaldimir's mouth. The animal had an empty stomach, and most of its organs were not functioning.
Since "there is nothing in the investigations that have been carried out to establish that it is human activity that has directly led to Hvaldimir's death," the investigation has been closed, the Norwegian police reported.
The 15-year-old Hvaldimir, measuring 4.3 metres and weighing approximately 1.1 metric tonnes, was not old for a beluga, which can live up to 60 years.
