‘Russian spy whale’ was not shot dead, say Norwegian police

A beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation that it was a Russian spy, was not shot dead as claimed by animal rights groups but died of a bacterial infection, Norwegian police said.

A final post-mortem examination by Norway’s Veterinary Institute “concludes that the probable cause of death was bacterial infection – possibly as a result of a wound in the mouth from a stuck stick”, Amund Preede Revheim, head of the North Sea and environment section of the police in south-western Norway, said.

“There have been no findings from the autopsy that indicate that the whale has been shot,” he stressed, adding that the post-mortem examination had been “made difficult by the fact that many of the whale’s organs were very rotten”.

The tame beluga, which was first spotted in 2019 not far from Russian waters with a harness reading Equipment St Petersburg, had been nicknamed Hvaldimir, combining the Norwegian word for whale – hval – and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

It was found floating in a southern Norway bay on August 31.

In September, animal advocate groups OneWhale and NOAH filed a police report saying that the animal’s wounds suggested it was intentionally killed.

They pointed at several wounds found on the animal’s skin, including what was interpreted as a bullet hole.

Earlier, police had described a stick about 35cm (14in) long and 3cm (1in) wide which was found wedged in the animal’s mouth, its stomach was empty and its organs had broken down, police said.

No further details were given.

The 4.2-metre (14ft) long and 1,225kg (2,700lbs) whale was first spotted by fishermen not far from the Arctic town of Hammerfest.

Its harness, along with what appeared to be a mount for a small camera, led to media speculation that it was a “spy whale”.

Experts say the Russian navy is known to have trained whales for military purposes.

Media reports have also speculated that the whale might have been trained as a therapy animal.

There was no immediate reaction from OneWhale or NOAH.