Death of whale believed to be Russian spy: Dead body found in Norway, playing with humans like dolphin

White beluga whale 'Hvaldimir', believed to be a Russian spy, has died. According to the BBC, on August 31, a father and son fishing in Risavika Bay, Norway, found the whale's body floating. This 14 feet long whale was about 15 years old. The weight was 1,225 kg. His body was taken out with a crane. The cause of death is yet to be ascertained but it is suspected that the death may have been caused by a collision with a large boat. However, no injury marks were found on his body. The Hvaldimir whale has been sent for post-mortem. In 2019, the world came to know about this for the first time. It was found off the coast of the Norwegian island of Ingoya, 415 km from Russia. Beluga whales are not seen in the area, so they are being monitored. The whale is named after Putin A closer inspection of the whale revealed a belt around its neck. Along with cameras, machines were also installed on the body on which the name of the Russian city of St. Petersburg was written. The Russian Navy is known for training whales. This is the reason why it is considered as Russia's spy whale. Western media claimed that Hvaldimir was part of a Russian project to turn animals into spies. However, Russia never accepted this. A whale is called Hval in Norway. After this, linking the name of the whale and the Russian President, he started to be called Vladimir Spy Whale on social media. Beluga whales usually live in the cold Arctic Ocean. But Hvaldimir lived easily among men. She played with humans like a dolphin. Hvaldimir was calm, playing with humans Marine Mind, a Norwegian NGO that protects Hvaldimir, said he had been spotted in several coastal areas over the past few years. We immediately understood that he was very calm. He loved playing with people. She also responded to hand signals. The NGO said that Hvaldimir loved to play with people. He was loved by thousands in Norway. His death is heartbreaking. Marine Mind said she was last seen by us on Friday, the day before she died. She looked normal then. This is why we want to know the cause of his death. Hvaldimir died before his time. In general, the average age of a beluga whale is considered to be 60 years. However, no injury marks were found on his body.

Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).