A beluga whale nicknamed Hvaldimir, who was initially suspected of being a Russian spy, was found dead on Aug. 31, according to Norwegian media. Hvaldimir’s body was first spotted by a father and son who were out fishing for mackerel near the port town of Risavika in southwestern Norway.
“This morning, after receiving a sighting report from a local, our team arrived to find Hvaldimir floating peacefully in the water,” Marine Mind, a Norway-based nonprofit, said on Instagram. “It is not immediately clear what caused his death, a necropsy will be conducted to determine his early passing.”
Hvaldimir first gained fame in 2019 when he started approaching fishing boats in Norwegian waters, some 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the Norway’s maritime border with Russia. At the time, he had a tight harness around his neck, with what appeared to be a camera mount, stamped with “equipment of St. Petersburg.” The whale also appeared to be tame, and would regularly approach people, sparking speculation that he had possibly been held in captivity in Russia and either trained for spying or to work as a therapy whale. Historically, the militaries of both the U.S. and Russia captured beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) for research and to help with military operations like delivering equipment to divers and retrieving objects.
While Hvaldimir’s origin remained unverified, the 4.2-meter (14-foot) beluga whale was eventually freed from his harness. He continued to live in Norwegian waters, where locals named him Hvaldimir, a mashup of the Norwegian word for whale, hval, and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Beluga whales are highly social animals, living in groups in the cold Arctic waters. However, Hvaldimir was a solitary individual and seemed to prefer staying close to humans. Various government and nonprofit organizations, including Marine Mind, monitored the whale and observed him routinely visiting boats, and even playing fetch. But Hvaldimir’s tendency to approach people and boats was dangerous. “He has been struck by boats multiple times, the scars of which can still be seen clearly today,” Marine Mind notes on its website.
OneWhale, an organization created to protect Hvaldimir, speculated on Instagram that Hvaldmir’s death might be related to human activities in the area. “We don’t know the manner of death yet but he was in heavily trafficked waters just outside of Stavanger, Norway, so we expect it was not a natural death,” the post said.
Sebastian Strand, a marine biologist with Marine Mind, who has been tracking Hvaldimir for three years, told Norwegian outlet NRK that a necropsy would give them more answers.
“It’s absolutely horrible,” Strand told NRK. “He was apparently in good condition as of yesterday. So we just have to figure out what might have happened here.”
Banner image of Hvaldimir near a boat, by Ein Dahmer via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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