A whale suspected of being trained as a spy by the Russian government was found dead off the Norwegian coast. “Hvaldimir,” “Whaledimir” in English, was given the nickname as a play on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s name. Photo courtesy of DNAIndia News.
Sept. 1 (UPI) — A beluga whale suspected of having been trained as a Russian spy has been found dead off the coast of Norway, officials announced Sunday.
The body of the whale, named Hvaldimir, “Whaledimir” in English, was found by an organization called Marine Mind which has tracked the whale’s movements for years.
The whale was first spotted in Norwegian waters with a GoPro camera five years ago attached to a strap that read “Equipment of St Petersburg.” That prompted speculation that the camera and the whale it was attached to could be the property of Russia, and started rumors that Hvaldimir could be a spy since he seemed accustomed to humans, the BBC reported.
Norwegian officials investigated the whale and named him Hvaldimir, a pun on the word “hval,” Norwegian for whale, and linked it to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Organizers tried to create a sanctuary for Hvaldimir in 2019 when it seemed to be seeking help, according to a concerned fisherman in the area named Joar Hesten who sent images of the whale to a marine biologist who then contacted the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries asking for help for the whale.
Hesten donned a survival suit and jumped into the water, freed the whale and retrieved the harness that was emblazoned with the words “Equipment of St. Petersburg.”
It was unusual to see a beluga whale so far south and supporters organized to help feed and shelter the animal, which was exposed to the threat of open waters outside his natural geographic habitat.
Russia has a history of training mammals for military purposes, which has been covered extensively by local media, replete with aerial and covert photos, online, including photos that seem to show whale pens off the coast of Norway.
Hvaldimir was estimated to be about 15, not considered old for a beluga, which can live to be 60.
