“Hvaldimir,” the beluga whale found dead in Norway in August, reportedly died from a bacterial infection and not a gunshot wound, Norwegian police said Friday. A possible cause of bacterial infection is a wound caused by a stick getting stuck in the mouth.
The 14-foot-long and 2,700-pound whale was first spotted in 2019 with a harness reading “Equipment St. Petersburg,” leading to speculation that the whale was a Russian spy. This prompted people to nickname him Hvaldimir the spy whale. Hvaldimir is a blend of the Norwegian word for whale, “hval”, and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The white whale was found dead outside Stavanger on 31 August.
Animal rights organizations NOAH and One Whale claimed that the whale was shot and killed and also filed a police report. Subsequently, the veterinary institute in Sandnes, on behalf of the Fisheries Directorate, conducted an autopsy and found that it had a 35 cm (14 in) rod stuck in its mouth.
Norwegian police officer Amund Priede Revheim said, “The report concluded that the probable cause of death was a bacterial infection, possibly the result of a wound caused by a stick stuck in his mouth.”
“Hvaldimir may face challenges with his nutrition due to the pinen (the Norwegian word for peg, a wooden stick), which could lead to increased infection,” a press release issued by Norwegian police said.
“An assessment conducted by the veterinary institute and police criminal technicians found that there were no injuries. “Chest and head X-rays can also be done without the presence of a projector or other metal pieces.”
The police found no traces of bullets, so no further investigation was conducted.
“There is no investigation that would indicate that Hvaldimir is living illegally. The police therefore had no reason to launch an investigation into the whale’s death, and instead responded to incoming reports”, Preed Revheim said.
For biosecurity reasons, the remains are usually destroyed after autopsy in a veterinary institution. In this case, the Fisheries Directorate has decided to donate the skeleton of the white whale Hvaldimir to the Nature Museum and Botanical Garden at the UIA University in Agder.
Last year, Norway urged its citizens to avoid any contact with Hvaldimir, who was spotted in a fjord close to Oslo.
