Beluga Whale Norway Russian Spy: Hvaldimir's Tragic End

Beluga Whale Norway Russian Spy: Hvaldimir's Heartbreaking Demise

For a supposed spy, Hvaldimir was anything but covert. The white beluga whale had appeared regularly along the coast of Norway since first being spotted in the country’s north in April 2019, wearing a harness and what appeared to be a mount for a small camera. Together with a buckle that read “Equipment St. Petersburg,” that prompted speculation that the animal was an escaped “spy whale” that had been trained for military purposes in neighboring Russia.

The whale seemed to love being around people and quickly captivated local residents, who came up with the name Hvaldimir — a combination of the Norwegian word for whale, “hval,” and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The 14-foot, 2,700-pound whale was found dead on Saturday in the harbor of Stavanger, a city in southwestern Norway, after residing in the area since last year, the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries said in a statement Monday.

Community Impact

Marine biologist Sebastian Strand, who had tracked Hvaldimir’s adventures for the NGO Marine Mind, said he made the discovery while out scouting for the whale and was “heartbroken.” “He meant more than I can put into words, to me, to the team, and to thousands of people whose lives he had profoundly impacted,” Strand said, adding that Hvaldimir was known to be alive as recently as Friday.

• Superficial injuries: Strand noted that there were only superficial injuries on Hvaldimir’s body.
• Cause of death unclear: An autopsy is being performed to determine the cause of death.
• Speculation of espionage: Even as locals speculated that Hvaldimir might be on a clandestine mission for the Kremlin, Moscow never claimed the alleged Russian operative as its own.

Marine Animals and Military Use

The military use of marine animals is well documented. Navies around the world, including those of the Soviet Union and the United States, famously sought to tame cetaceans for spy missions during the Cold War, training them to retrieve underwater objects, detect mines, and even for defense operations. But Hvaldimir could also have been a therapy whale, which could explain the interest in people and responses to hand signals.

“It appeared as if Hvaldimir arrived in Norway by crossing over from Russian waters, where it is presumed he was held in captivity,” Marine Mind says on its website. The whale’s solitude and behavior was atypical of its species, which generally moves in groups and inhabits remote Arctic areas.

Final Thoughts

Hvaldimir was known to be a fan of catamarans around Norway, regularly following them from one fish farm to another and hunting for food underneath the fishing nets. “For now, we work towards a final dignity of making sure he is kept well and examined so his death will not be a mystery,” Strand said. “But no matter what now, a beloved friend of many is gone.”