A beluga whale suspected of being trained as a Russian spy has been found dead.
Hvaldimir was first spotted near the Norwegian island of Ingoya in April 2019. He was wearing a harness and what appeared to be a mount for a small camera which read “equipment St Petersburg”.
The animal – who was known as Hvaldimir – was found floating at the Risavika Bay in southern Norway on Saturday by a father and son who were fishing, Norwegian public broadcaster NRK reported.
Marine biologist Sebastian Strand, who has monitored the whale for the past three years, said it is unclear what Hvladimir died of, adding no major external injuries were visible.
“It’s absolutely horrible,” Mr Strand said. “He was apparently in good condition [as of Friday]. So we just have to figure out what might have happened here.”
Regina Crosby Haug from One Whale, an organisation that campaigned to protect Hvaldimir, added he was a “healthy young whale with no signs of illness”.