‘Russian Spy Whale’ Found Dead in the Sea near Norway

A beluga whale nicknamed Hvaldimir, who was suspected of spying on Russia through a video camera attached to it, was found dead in Norwegian territorial waters.

This was reported by The Associated Press.

Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported that the whale's carcass was found on Saturday by fishermen in the Gulf of Risavika in southern Norway. The beluga whale was lifted out of the water with a crane and taken to a nearby harbour, where it will be examined by experts.

‘It's dead, but it's unclear what the cause of death is,’ said marine biologist Sebastian Strand, adding that the animal did not show any serious external injuries.

The 4.2-metre-long whale, weighing 1,225 kilograms, was first spotted by fishermen off the northern Ingoya island, near the Arctic town of Hammerfest, in April 2019. The animal was then wearing ammunition: a mount for a small video camera and a buckle with the inscription ‘Equipment St Petersburg’.

This raised suspicions that the beluga was a spy. Experts said that the Russian Navy is known to train whales for military purposes.

For many years, the beluga whale has been seen in several Norwegian coastal towns, and it quickly became clear that it was not afraid of people and was willing to play with them.

The Norwegians nicknamed the marine mammal Hvaldimir from the Norwegian word hval, which means whale, and the name Vladimir, which indicates its connection to Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin.

Last year, the beluga whale, which was first spotted in 2019 in Norwegian waters, appeared off the coast of Sweden.