Baffling end of Hvaldimir, the beluga whale suspected of espionage

Off the coast of Norway, fishermen caught 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 turned out that 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 needs.

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

Organisations 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 it "political asylum" and take care of it for the rest of its days. However, this ultimately did not take place. The beluga lived in the wild and managed quite well.

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

– He was a healthy young whale with no signs of illness – said the veterinarian who examined Hvaldimir once a year in an interview with Norwegian radio. – I really hope that this is not human-related – he added.

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

These animals live in the wild for about 9 to 15 metres.