According to the non-profit organization that monitored the whale, a beluga whale suspected of spying on behalf of Russia and discovered in Norwegian waters 5 years ago was found dead.

A father and son were fishing in southern Norway when they spotted the body of Hvaldimir – a combination of Hvaldimir and the Norwegian word of whale combined with the first name Vladimir Putin. Norwegian public broadcaster NRK confirmed this.

Marine Mind, an NGO, posted on social media that "Hvaldimir wasn't just a beluga; he was also a symbol for hope, connection and a reminder about the strong bond between humans, the natural world and each other."

Hvaldimir wore a harness that appeared to have a camera mount when he first was found in 2019, near the island Ingoya, in the north of Norway. This was about 300km away from the Russian border. The harness had "Equipment St Petersburg", in English, stamped on it.

The whale showed a great interest in humans and responded to hand gestures, which led Norway's intelligence agency to believe that he was held captive in Russia for a research program before crossing into Norwegian water.

Moscow has never replied to the accusations about Hvaldimir.

Marine Mind's Sebastian Strand told NRK, "It is absolutely terrible." He was in good health as of Friday, so we have to find out what happened.

He added that no major injuries were visible to the animal, and it wasn't immediately apparent what caused its death. (Reporting and editing by Miral Fakhmy in Sydney)

(source: Reuters)