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For a creature rumoured to be a spy, Hvaldimir was anything but stealthy.

This white beluga whale, frequently seen gliding along Norway’s coast since its initial sighting in April 2019, became an instant sensation. When it first appeared in the country’s northern waters, the whale was clad in a harness equipped with what looked like a mount for a small camera.

Adding to the intrigue, a buckle on the harness bore the words “Equipment St. Petersburg,” fueling speculation that it was no ordinary whale but an escapee from a covert Russian military program.

Yet, this so-called “spy whale” didn’t shy away from human interaction. On the contrary, it seemed to revel in the company of people, swiftly charming the local residents. Enamoured by its playful nature, they gave it the fitting name “Hvaldimir”—a clever fusion of “hval,” the Norwegian word for whale, and the first name of Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin.

Sadly, the 4.2-metre, 1,224-kilogram whale was found dead Saturday in the harbour of Stavanger, a city in southwestern Norway, after having resided in the area since last year, the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries said in a statement Monday, per NBC News.

Marine biologist Sebastian Strand, who had been closely following Hvaldimir’s journey for the nonprofit Marine Mind, was devastated when he found the whale. Out on the water, searching for the familiar figure, he finally spotted Hvaldimir—and the discovery left him “heartbroken.”

“He meant more than I can put into words, to me, to the team and to thousands of people whose lives he had profoundly impacted,” Strand said, adding that Hvaldimir was known to be alive as recently as Friday.

“We were responding to a sighting but did not know anything happened to him,” he said.

Strand said that Hvaldimir had only superficial injuries and that the cause of death was unclear. An autopsy was being performed Monday, the fisheries directorate said.

Despite local speculation that Hvaldimir might be on a secret mission for the Kremlin, Moscow never acknowledged the alleged Russian operative as one of its own. The use of marine animals for military purposes, however, is well-documented.

Navies around the world, including those of the Soviet Union and the U.S., famously sought to tame cetaceans for spy missions during the Cold War, training them to retrieve underwater objects and detect mines and even take part in defense operations.

Another theory about Hvaldimir is that he could have been a therapy whale, which could explain his interest in people and responses to hand signals.

“It appeared as if Hvaldimir arrived in Norway by crossing over from Russian waters, where it is presumed he was held in captivity,” Marine Mind says on its website.

Hvaldimir was known to be a fan of catamarans around Norway, regularly following them from one fish farm to another, and hunting for food underneath the fishing nets.

Now the beloved friend of many is gone, and the seas around Norway will never be the same again.

[source:nbcnews]