The celebrity beluga whale dubbed by Western media as a “Russian spy” was found dead in Risavika Bay in southern Norway over the weekend, according to the public broadcaster NRK.
The white whale first rose to fame in April 2019 when he was discovered off the northern coast of Norway, allegedly wearing a camera harness labeled ‘Equipment St. Petersburg.’ This led to jokes that the marine mammal was on a spy mission from Moscow, earning him the nickname Hvaldimir – a combination of the Norwegian word for whale (hval) and the name of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
”Unfortunately, we found Hvaldimir floating in the sea; he has passed away,” said Sebastian Strand, a marine biologist who monitored the whale for several years. He added that the cause of death remains unknown.
“It’s absolutely horrible. He was apparently in good condition as of yesterday. We just have to figure out what might have happened here.”
Hvaldimir was reportedly seen alive and well at midday on Saturday, diving underwater for several minutes. Two and a half hours later, the Stavanger Region Harbor was notified that the whale was floating in the water. He was dead by the time boats approached him.
Strand noted no major external damage, only “damage from birds and such.”
Hvaldimir's body was lifted from the sea and towed ashore, where it will be examined to determine the cause of death.
The One Whale organization, which had monitored Hvaldimir for years and provided regular veterinary checks, said they had “feared this for years.”
The organization campaigned for Hvaldimir's relocation further north. Although the request was eventually approved by the Directorate of Fisheries, other researchers objected, arguing that it would pose risks to the whale's welfare.
“We had been in good dialogue with the Directorate of Fisheries regarding Hvaldimir's relocation. We engaged an expert in whale transport, and the plane was already booked. We were so close,” said Regina Crosby Haug, founder of the One Whale organization.
“He was a healthy young whale with no signs of illness. I really hope this isn’t human-related,” she added, expressing her devastation at the news of Hvaldimir's death.
Hvaldimir was known for being friendly to humans, often approaching fishermen's boats and responding to hand signals.
He was believed to have arrived in Norway after crossing over from Russian waters. Some alleged that he was trained by the Russian navy for military purposes, while others suggested he was a “therapy whale.”