This is the whale suspected of being used by the Russian navy after it was discovered five years ago with a strange harness around its head. Now it has turned up dead!
The beluga whale Hvaldimir, discovered five years ago with a strange harness around its head, which raised suspicions that it had been used by the Russian navy, was found dead in southwestern Norwayaccording to an NGO that monitored his movements.
First spotted in Norwegian Arctic waters in 2019, this white cetacean measuring several metres in length is named after a play on the word whale (hval in Norwegian) and the iconic Russian name.
I found Hvaldi dead yesterday when I was looking for her, as I usually do.
We had confirmation that she was alive just over 24 hours before we found her floating motionless in the waters off the southwest coast of Risavika,
Sebastian Strand, founder of the NGO Marine Mind, told AFP.
According to Sebastian, the cause of death is unknown and no injuries were observed visible on initial inspection of the whale's body.
We managed to recover the carcass and placed it in a refrigerated location, with a view to a necropsy by the veterinary institute, which could help determine what happened to it.
He added.
Fredrik Skarbøvik, maritime coordinator at the port of Stavanger, confirmed the death of the beluga whale to VG newspaper.
"There were a lot of people I know who fell in love with this whale" - Ric O'Barry
Hvaldimir the world-famous 'Russian spy whale' has been discovered dead.
— Michael Dahlstrom (@mb_dahlstrom) August 31, 2024
Hvaldimir, estimated age between 14 and 15 years oldwas sighted in 2019 in the waters off the Arctic region of Finnmark, in the far north of Norway.
The biologists who approached her managed to remove the harness attached to her head. The harness was equipped with a base for a small camera, with the words Team St. Peterburg printed in English.
The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries then raised the hypothesis that Hvaldimir had escaped from a special enclosure and had been trained by the Russian navy, as seemed accustomed to human company and often approached boats.
Russia has never officially commented on this speculation.
A year ago, Hvaldimir was spotted off the southwest coast of Sweden and the charity became concerned that he was unable to find food in the area and was showing signs of weight loss.
Beluga whales traditionally live much further north, near Greenland, or in Russian or Norwegian Arctic waters.
The Barents Sea and the North Atlantic are strategic areas for the Western and Russian navies, an area of regular contact for their submarines.
Source: pplware.sapo.pt
