'Russian Spy' Whale Named After Vladimir Putin Found Dead in Norwegian Waters

Espionage is an alluring business and sometimes even animals are used to gather intel. A beluga whale named 'Hvaldimir' has for long been suspected of spying for Russia, BBC reported. Recently, the whale has been found dead, floating off the southwestern town of Risavika in Norway.

Hvaldimir was discovered by an organization named Marine Mind which had been tracking the whale and his movements for the last three years.

Marine Mind founder, Sebastian Strand, stated that they know nothing about the whale's cause of death and that there were no external injuries.

The whale has been sent to a harbor for further examination, Aljazeera reported.

"We've managed to retrieve his remains and put him in a cooled area, in preparation for a necropsy by the veterinary institute," Strand stated, BBC reported. 

According to experts, the whale did not die of old age, as he was about 15 years old, and beluga whales, have a lifespan of 60 years, BBC reported. 

In April 2019, the beluga whale approached Norwegian boats, near the island of Ingoya, about 415km (260 miles) from Murmansk, where the Russian Northern fleet was stationed, BBC reported. The sighting gained a lot of publicity because belugas are not usually spotted in this area. 

The whale was located in Norwegian waters with a GoPro camera harness attached to its body that read – "Equipment of St Petersburg," BBC reported. This caused several experts to speculate that the mammal could be a spy.

The whale came to be known as Hvaldimir – a combination of the Norwegian word 'hval' meaning whale and the name of Russian President, Vladimir Putin.

In the past, there have been several alleged incidents of animals being used to spy on targets, which further backed the suspicion of the experts. 

Norway's domestic intelligence agency investigated the situation and concluded that the whale might have been trained by the Russian army since he was accustomed to humans, BBC reported.

Russian authorities never responded to the spy allegations, BBC reported.