It is a death that shakes Norway and all the NGOs that had taken a liking to Hvaldimir, aka Hvaldi. The lifeless carcass of the beluga, aged 14 or 15 according to several estimates, suspected of being a Russian spy when it first appeared in the far north of the country in 2019, was found on Saturday, August 31 off the coast of the town of Risavika, in southwest Norway. The one-ton, four-meter-long cetacean was transported to the nearest port for examination. As of Monday, September 2, the causes of death were still unknown.
Hvaldimir was followed by several NGOs, including Marine Mind, which announced the sad news. “I found Hvaldi dead yesterday while I was looking for him as usual,” “We are proud of this unique cetacean,” said Sebastian Strand, founder of the organization, on Sunday. After making headlines in both national and international media five years ago, the entire world is paying tribute to this cetacean like no other. “It was a shock for all of us”Kathrine Albertine Ryeng of the Marine Research Institute sadly told the Norwegian daily VG. But who was Hvaldi really? Was he really trained by Russia?
From spy to Norwegian celebrity
It all started in April 2019. The beluga was surprised by fishermen circling boats in the waters of the Norwegian Arctic. A rare event since belugas, a member of the dolphin family, normally live in colder waters near Greenland. Several experts noticed that he was different from the others and that he seemed to have been trained and accustomed to humans. Even more disturbing, he was equipped with a harness with a camera base. “St. Petersburg Equipment” is also written on the plastic straps. Very quickly, he was suspected of spying for Russia, which never reacted on this subject. He was then nicknamed “Hvaldimir”, a play on words associating the word whale (whale in Norwegian), and the Russian first name “Vladimir”, in reference to President Putin.
The cetacean spends most of its time in salmon farms. It then approaches the nets to eat the fish attracted by the food given to the salmon, thus provoking the anger of the farmers. In 2023, it is this time located not far from the Swedish coast. Having become famous, tourist trips are organized allowing visitors to come into contact with Hvaldimir.
“When there are bad elements, we put him out”
According to some experts, the beluga whale escaped its enclosure, located in the Russian city of Murmansk. If it turns out that it was indeed trained by the army, according to Eric Demay, founder of the NGO Tursiops, Hvaldimir did not escape: “I think it was no longer effective. It has already happened in the United States. When there are bad elements, they are thrown out.”
The education of these maritime species to make them soldiers was in fact set up by the United States. Which was then followed by several countries, including Russia. “In Sevastopol, you have dolphins that are harnessed to kill spy divers and warn in case of shootings,” explains Eric Demay. Since 1975, a marine mammal unit has been guarding the bay located in Crimea. While small dolphins are trained to do reconnaissance and prevention, larger ones, such as belugas or orcas, are trained “to search for heavy things, including missiles lost at the bottom of the water.”
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