Beluga whale accused of spying for Russia, found dead off the coast of Norway

“Our team ended up finding Hvaldimir floating peacefully in the water,” the organization wrote in a social media post. “It is not immediately clear what caused his death, and an autopsy will be performed to determine his early death.”

Hvaldimir, whose name is a pun on the Norwegian word for “whale” and the name of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, first attracted attention in 2019 when he appeared off the northern coast of Norway wearing a harness with a Go -Pro.

Several clips on the harness were labeled “Equipment St. Petersburg”, fueling a theory that Hvaldimir was trained by the Russian military.

Russia has a history of training marine animals such as dolphins and beluga whales, a practice that dates back to the Soviet Union and continues today. The US Navy has also trained dolphins to clear mines and defend against divers.

Marine Mind, which has been heavily involved in Hvaldimir’s care since its emergence, said it knew little about the beluga whale’s past and could not confirm whether Russia had captured it before.

“Hvaldimir was very interested in people and responded to hand signals,” the organization said on its website. “Based on these observations, it appears that Hvaldimir arrived in Norway via Russian waters, where he is believed to have been held in captivity.”

But if trained by the Kremlin, Hvaldimir appeared to have defected, gradually traveling south to the more populous regions of Norway over the past four years.

He quickly gained celebrity status as videos emerged of him gently interacting with people, lifting his head out of the water to greet residents and bringing gifts into his mouth. In late 2019, he was filmed playing with a rugby ball.

Marine Mind said Hvaldimir was found several times with scars from accidental boat collisions after he emerged, but that he was a hardy animal adapting to life with humans.

His death was a shock to the team, they told local station NRK.

Hvaldimir was thought to be about 15 years old, and beluga whales can live up to 60 years in the wild.

A resident, Dag Anfindsen, told NRK that he had seen Hvaldimir in good health just a day before his death, watching the whale dive and swim for several minutes.

Marine Mind and the Russian defense ministry did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s after-hours requests for comment.

Hvaldimir’s death comes amid rising tensions in an already frosty relationship between Norway and Russia over the war in Ukraine.

Norway is an active member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which has stepped up drills and exercises in the region to prepare for an increased possibility of war with Russia.

America’s allies in northeastern Europe, particularly the Nordic and Baltic nations, have been vocal about Russia’s resilience and the strengthening of their defense industries. In April, Oslo announced it would nearly double its defense budget, with an expansion of $56 billion.