Russian ‘spy whale’ found dead in mysterious circumstances

A white whale accused of being a Russian spy has been found dead in mysterious circumstances.

Hvaldimir, a 14ft beluga whale, was found floating lifelessly by a father and son out on a fishing trip in Norway’s Risavika Bay on Sunday.

The famous whale gained a loyal fan base after he was found by Norwegian fishermen on Ingøya island in 2019.

He was discovered with a harness strapped around his head, which had the phrase ‘Equipment St Petersburg’ printed on the strap and an (empty) slot with room for a camera to be attached, sparking rumours he may have been a marine spy who escaped from a training tank at a Russian facility.

The Russian Navy is known to have trained whales and seals for military purposes, and Hvalimir was known to be unusually friendly towards humans, suggesting he had spent considerable time around them in the past.

His name was a cheeky homage to his alleged undercover activity, with Hvaldimir being a portmanteau of ‘Hval’, the Norwegian word for ‘white’, and ‘Vladimir’- a reference to Russian president Putin.

The whale’s corpse was discovered by Storm Karolius Kristiansen, 16, who was mackerel fishing with his dad when they stumbled across the huge sea animal off the coast of fishing village Tanager.

Kristiansen told Norwegian broadcaster NRK: ‘At first I thought it was a boat that had capsized, so me and my father drove over there to check it out.

‘By then there was already a boat with some biologists who had followed the whale.’

Following the discovery, the pair tied a rope around the whales tail and dragged it to shore to stop nosy bystanders from gathering around them.

The 16-year-old said: ‘I was shocked. I had never imagined a whale lying in Tananger. I’ve never experienced anything close to that before.’

Hvaldimir’s cause of death is yet to be determined, but he was believed to have been healthy and active just a few days prior.

Marine biologist Sebastian Strand told NRK: ‘Unfortunately, we found Hvaldimir floating in the sea.’

He said Hvaldimir ‘has passed away but it’s not immediately clear what the cause of death is’ but added there appeared to be no major external injuries.

A team of experts will now study the corpse to determine the exact cause of death.

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