According to police, a Russian “spy whale” was not shot in Norway

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — There is no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off the coast of Norway and whose harness sparked speculation it was a Russian spy was shot last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.

The tame Belugawhich was first spotted in 2019 near Russian waters with a harness marked “Equipment St. Petersburg”, was found floating in Risavika Bay in southern Norway on 31.August.

Experts examined the carcass at a nearby port after lifting it with a crane.

Animal welfare groups OneWhale and NOAH filed a police report last week saying the animal's wounds suggest it was intentionally killed. OneWhale founder Regina Haug said when she saw the carcass, “she knew immediately that it had been killed by gunshots.”

Veterinarians have not yet come to this conclusion.

Police said the Norwegian Veterinary Institute had conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was named “Hvaldimir” – a combination of the Norwegian word for whale – “hval” – and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“There are no autopsy findings to indicate that Hvaldimir was shot,” police said in a statement.

Most of the animal's visible wounds were “completely superficial,” one of which was “slightly deeper,” but neither fatal nor did it affect vital organs, police said. An X-ray showed no projectiles and no indication that the wounds could have been caused by gunshots, the statement said.

However, a stick about 35 centimeters long and 3 centimeters wide was found in the animal's mouth. Its stomach was empty and its organs were failing, police said. No further details were released.

“The investigations carried out have not revealed anything to suggest that human activity directly led to Hvaldimir's death,” said Preede Revheim, head of the North Sea and Environmental Division of the police in southwest Norway.

Revheim said police will not actively investigate the case and that the final autopsy report will be released later this month.

The two animal rights groups said on Monday that they were not satisfied with the preliminary results and wanted to continue the police investigation. They offered 50,000 krone ($4,661) for information that would reopen the case.

The 4.2-meter-long and 1,225-kilogram whale was first spotted by fishermen near the northern island of Ingoeya, not far from the Arctic town of Hammerfest.

Its harness and what appeared to be a mount for a small camera led to speculation in the media that it was a “spy whale”. Since 2019, it has been spotted in several Norwegian coastal towns and it became clear that it was very tame and enjoyed interacting with people.

According to experts, it is known that the Russian Navy has trained whales for military purposes. According to media reports, the whale was also trained as a therapy animal.