Russian ‘spy whale’ found dead off Norway
A beluga whale, believed to have been trained as a Russian spy, was found dead off the Norwegian coast. The animal, known as Hvaldimir, was discovered floating near the southwestern town of Risavika and brought to the nearest port for examination.
Five years ago, Hvaldimir first made headlines when he was spotted in Norwegian waters with a GoPro camera attached to a harness labeled “Equipment of St Petersburg.” This led to speculation that the whale was a spy, although Moscow never addressed the claims.
Over the weekend, Marine Mind, an organization that has monitored Hvaldimir’s movements for years, found his lifeless body. The cause of death remains unknown, as there were no visible injuries on the whale, according to Marine Mind founder Sebastian Strand, who spoke to AFP news agency.
“We’ve recovered his remains and placed them in a cooled area, preparing for a necropsy by the veterinary institute,” Strand said.
Hvaldimir was estimated to be around 15 years old, which is relatively young for a beluga whale, as they can live up to 60 years. He was first noticed approaching Norwegian boats in April 2019 near the island of Ingoya, about 415 kilometers (260 miles) from Murmansk, where Russia’s Northern Fleet is stationed.
The sighting attracted attention because belugas are rarely seen this far south of the high Arctic.
The discovery led to an investigation by Norway’s domestic intelligence agency, which later said that the whale was likely to have been trained by the Russian army as he seemed accustomed to humans.
The whale became known locally as Hvaldimir, a pun on the Norwegian word for whale, “hval”, and President Vladimir Putin.
Russia has a history of training marine mammals such as dolphins for military purposes and the Barents Observer website has identified whale pens near naval bases in the north-west area of Murmansk.
Russia has never officially addressed the claim that Hvaldimir may have been trained by the Russian military. It has previously denied the existence of any programs seeking to train sea mammals as spies.
