Fishermen recently discovered the lifeless body of a whale drifting off the coast of Stavanger in southwestern Norway. The beluga whale, nicknamed Hvaldimir, gained widespread notoriety several years ago as an alleged Russian spy whale.
The whale first came to public attention in 2019 when footage emerged of it swimming in Norwegian waters, fearlessly approaching nearby fishing boats.
However, it became popular not for its friendly behavior, but for the bridle tied to its back. In April 2019, according to media reports, a whale got entangled in a net, a fisherman freed it and noticed that it had a bridle with the inscription in Russian “Inventory of St. Petersburg.”
Since the animal also sought contact with people, it was assumed that the whale was trained. According to marine biologists, the Russian Federation is training beluga whales for military operations.
All of this has led to speculation that the whale was a “spy whale” sent by Russia to monitor maritime activities. Its name, Hvaldimir, was a combination of the name Vladimir and the Norwegian word for “whale.”
Animal rights groups say the whale was shot. “Unless seagulls started carrying guns, the only possibility is that its death was caused by humans,” Regina Haag, founder of OneWhale, told the Washington Post.
The organization was created to ensure the safety of Hvaldimir.
Her body was found riddled with bullet holes clearly visible on the corpse, Haag said. Authorities in southwestern Norway declined to comment on the Washington Post reports but confirmed to CNN that a request for an investigation had been filed.
A police spokesman added: “He was something of a local celebrity. We’ve never had a case like this before.”
Cursor previously wrote that a fisherman lost consciousness due to an encounter with a whale.
