Russia’s spy whale ‘Hvaldimir’ has been found dead near the coast of Norway. This white beluga whale collided with a boat and died. The whale’s body was found floating on August 31 by a father and son fishing in Risvika Bay in southern Norway. It was pulled out of the water with the help of a crane and taken to a nearby port. The Hvaldimir whale has been sent for post-mortem. This whale was 14 feet long and weighed 2,700 pounds.
The name Hvaldimir of this beluga whale is a combination of the Norwegian word ‘Hval’ and the first part of the Russian President’s name ‘Vladimir’. Whales are called Hval in Norway. The Russian Navy is known for training whales. This is why it is considered to be Russia’s spy whale. The whale was first seen in April 2019 near Ingoya Island in northern Norway, about 300 km (190 miles) from the Russian maritime border. At that time, a harness and a small camera mount were attached to its body. Equipment St. Petersburg was written in English on the harness. St. Petersburg is the largest commercial city in Russia. It is believed that Russian scientists use such harnesses during research. In such a situation, speculations gained momentum that this is a spy whale.
Moscow has not responded to the allegations
Western countries also claimed that the whale was part of a secret mission of the Russian Navy. However, Moscow never responded to the allegations. According to experts, the Russian Navy is known to train whales for military purposes. Norwegian officials said that Hwaldimir was probably part of some training and escaped when he got the chance. He was trained by the Russian Navy as he seemed to be accustomed to living with humans. Since the whale was very interested in people and responded to hand signals, the Norwegian intelligence agency assumed that he was kept by Russia as part of a research.
Post-mortem to determine cause of death of whale
According to media reports, marine biologist Sebastian Strand said, “We have found Hwaldimir dead in the sea.” However, it is not yet clear what is the cause of death? No major external injury is visible on the body. Strand was monitoring Hwaldimir’s movement for the last three years on behalf of Norway’s NGO Marine Mind. He said, they are very saddened by the sudden death of the whale. Strand said, this is absolutely terrible. Till Friday she was in perfect condition, so we just have to find out what happened?
The whale loved to play with people
In the last few years, Beluga was seen in many coastal cities of Norway. Beluga whale is not found in this area, so it was kept under observation. Later it became clear that this whale is very calm and likes to play with people. It is said that Hwaldimir reached Norway through Russian waters. It is believed that he was kept captive there. Hwaldimir would be around 15 years old. Beluga whale usually lives for 40 to 60 years. Beluga whale usually lives in the cold Arctic Ocean.
Was Whale given espionage training by Russia?
According to the report, there is a Russian Navy base near the Kola Peninsula, where whales are trained. The Russian Navy started training marine creatures for espionage during the Cold War. This whale was also a part of the same program. However, this project of the Russian Navy could not succeed and was later discontinued. The marine creatures were trained to take orders from their instructors and spy on the enemy by entering their territory. A special harness was put on the body of the marine creatures, which had one or more cameras. However, this mission was also quite dangerous, because the marine creatures would also refuse to obey the orders of their instructors. A group of scientists and volunteers were active to train Hvaldimir, who remained around the whale all the time.
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