Celebrated “Russian Spy” Whale Hvaldimir Did Not Die Of Gunshot Wounds

A beluga whale “Hvaldimir”, found dead in Norway in August, reportedly died of bacterial infection and not gunshot wounds, said Norwegian police on Friday. The probable cause of bacterial infection is the wound in the mouth, caused by a stuck stick.

The 14-foot-long and 2,700-pound whale was first spotted in 2019 with a harness reading “Equipment St. Petersburg” fueling speculations that the whale was a Russian spy. This prompted people to nickname him Hvaldimir, the spy whale. Hvaldimir is a blend of the Norwegian word for whale, “hval,” and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The white whale was found dead outside Stavanger on August 31.

Animal rights organizations NOAH and One Whale claimed the whale had been shot dead and filed a police report. Following this, the Veterinary Institute in Sandnes, on behalf of the Directorate of Fisheries, conducted an autopsy and found a 35-centimeter (14-inch) stick lodged in his mouth.

“The report concluded that the probable cause of death was a bacterial infection, possibly a result of wounds in his mouth caused by a stick that got stuck,” Amund Preede Revheim, Norway police official said.

“Pinnen (Norwegian word for peg, a wooden stick) may also have led to Hvaldimir having challenges with its nutrition, thus increasing infections,” stated the press release issued by Norway police.

“Assessment done by the Veterinary Institute and police criminal technicians found that there was no injury. X-ray of the chest and head can be conducted without the presence of a projector or other metal fragments,” it added.

The police didn’t find any trace of bullets and therefore, no further investigation was done.

“There are no investigations that indicate that Hvaldimir is living illegally. The police therefore had no reason to launch an investigation into the whale’s death, and responded to the incoming report”, said Preed Revheim.

For biosecurity reasons, remains are usually destroyed after autopsies at the Veterinary Institute. In this case, the Directorate of Fisheries has decided to donate the skeleton of the white whale Hvaldimir to the Nature Museum and Botanical Garden at UiA University in Agder.

Last year, Norway requested its citizens to avoid any contact with Hvaldimir who was seen in a fjord close to Oslo.