‘Putin’s spy whale’ discovered lifeless in Norway — RT World Information

The celeb beluga whale dubbed a “Russian spy” was discovered lifeless in Risavika Bay in southern Norway over the weekend, in line with the Norwegian public broadcaster NRK.

The white whale first rose to fame in April 2019 when he was found off the northern coast of Norway allegedly carrying a digicam harness labeled ‘Tools St. Petersburg.’ This led to jokes that the marine mammal was on a spy mission from Moscow, incomes him the nickname Hvaldimir – a mixture of the Norwegian phrase for whale (hval) and the title of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

”Sadly, we discovered Hvaldimir floating within the sea; he has handed away,” stated Sebastian Strand, a marine biologist who monitored the whale for a number of years. He added that the reason for dying stays unknown.

“It’s completely horrible. He was apparently in good situation as of yesterday. We simply have to determine what might need occurred right here.”

Hvaldimir was reportedly seen alive and properly at noon on Saturday, diving underwater for a number of minutes. Two and a half hours later, the Stavanger Area Harbor was notified that the whale was floating within the water. He was lifeless by the point boats approached him.

Strand famous no main exterior injury, solely “injury from birds and such.”

Hvaldimir’s physique was lifted from the ocean and towed ashore, the place will probably be examined to find out the reason for dying.

The One Whale group, which had monitored Hvaldimir for years and offered common veterinary checks, expressed that they “feared this for years.”

The group campaigned for Hvaldimir’s relocation additional north. Though the request was ultimately authorized by the Directorate of Fisheries, different researchers objected, arguing that it could pose dangers to the whale’s welfare.

“We had been in good dialogue with the Directorate of Fisheries concerning Hvaldimir’s relocation. We engaged an skilled in whale transport, and the aircraft was already booked. We have been so shut,” stated Regina Crosby Haug, founding father of the One Whale group.

“He was a wholesome younger whale with no indicators of sickness. I actually hope this isn’t human-related,” she added, expressing her devastation on the information of Hvaldimir’s dying.

Hvaldimir was recognized for being tame and pleasant, typically approaching fishermen’s boats and responding handy indicators.

He was believed to have arrived in Norway after crossing over from Russian waters. Some alleged that he was skilled by the Russian navy for army functions, whereas others urged he was a “remedy whale.”

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