Hvaldimir, a beluga whale that gained international fame in 2019 for wearing a harness seemingly meant for a camera, was found dead in Norway, according to a nonprofit dedicated to its protection.
Sebastian Strand, a marine biologist and founder of the Norway-based nonprofit Marine Mind, reported seeing the deceased whale floating near Risavika in southwestern Norway, as noted by the New York Times on Saturday.
Strand mentioned that the cause of death was unclear, though there were markings around the whale that might have been made by birds or other marine creatures.
In 2019, Hvaldimir was first observed swimming off northern Norway with a peculiar device attached to it, which appeared to be designed to hold a camera. This led to the whale becoming widely known as a “spy” whale.
Hvaldimir, named as a play on the Norwegian word for whale, “hval,” and the name Vladimir, sparked speculation that it had been trained as a “spy” by Russia. The device attached to the whale was specially designed with mounts for GoPro cameras and was labeled “St. Petersburg,” which fueled theories that Hvaldimir originated from Russia’s Murmansk region and had been trained by the Russian Navy.
