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The beluga whale, which was found in Norwegian waters five years ago and was suspected of spying for Russia, has died, according to the nonprofit group that has been monitoring it.
A father and son were fishing in southern Norway last weekend when they found the body of “Hvaldimir,” which means “whale” in Norwegian and is also the name of Russian President Vladimir Putin, floating on the surface of the sea, Norwegian public broadcaster NRK reported.
“Hawadimir is more than just a white whale; he is a beacon of hope, a symbol of connection and a reminder of the deep connection between humans and the natural world,” the NGO Heart of the Sea said on social media.
When Hvaldimir was first spotted near the island of Ingoya in northern Norway in 2019, he was wearing a harness with what appeared to be a small camera mount on it. The words “Equipment St Petersburg” were printed on the harness in English.
The whale was very interested in humans and responded to hand gestures, leading Norway’s domestic intelligence agency to speculate that it had been held in captivity by Russia as part of a research project before entering Norwegian waters.
Moscow has never responded to the allegations against Khavadimir.
“It’s really horrible,” Sebastian Strand, a marine biologist working with Marine Mind, told NRK. “As of Friday, he seemed to be doing well, so we have to figure out what might have happened here.”
He added that there were no obvious major traumatic injuries on the animal and the cause of its death was not yet clear.
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