An animal rights organization, One Whale, has claimed that a beluga whale found dead on the coast of Norway was shot dead due to suspicions of spying for Russia.
A few years ago, the beluga whale found on Norway’s shores was named “Hvaldimir” due to suspicions that it might be spying for Russia.
According to international media reports, an organization named Marine Mind found the beluga whale, known as Hvaldimir, dead on the Norwegian coast three days ago.
Sebastian Strand, the founder of Marine Mind, told AFP News Agency that his organization had been monitoring Hvaldimir’s movements for years. The cause of the whale’s death is unknown, and the body appeared healthy.
Norway previously claimed that a “Russian spy whale” was spotted near Sweden.
Strand said that Hvaldimir’s sudden death is mysterious because beluga whales typically live up to 60 years, and Hvaldimir was only about 15 years old.
Meanwhile, One Whale released images showing bullet wounds on Hvaldimir’s body. Miss Hong from One Whale stated that the whale was brutally shot, with clear bullet marks on its body.
Previously, Norway had claimed evidence of a Russian-trained spy whale near Sweden’s shores, which behaved unusually close to humans.
In 2019, a beluga whale was seen in Norwegian waters, suspected of being used by the Russian Navy for spying. It had a camera attached, marked with “Equipment St. Petersburg.”
Norwegians named the whale “Hvaldimir,” combining “Hval,” Norwegian for whale, and “dimir,” from Russian.
Hvaldimir had covered half of Norway’s coastline over the past three years and recently began moving rapidly toward Sweden.
The 14-foot-long, 2,700-pound whale was known worldwide as a suspected Russian spy because Russia has previously used marine animals for espionage.
Russia has never officially responded to these allegations.
