Hvaldimir: The Spy Whale with Spy Wear

Three weeks ago, a well-known beluga whale named Hvaldimir was found dead in ocean waters near Risavika, Norway. Hvaldimir previously rose to fame in 2019 when he was found by fishermen off the coast of Norway with a camera harness strapped around his body and the words “Equipment St. Petersburg” engraved on the harness’s buckle. Speculation that Hvaldimir was being used as a Russian spy immediately spread, but Russia has never publicly commented on Hvaldimir. Nevertheless, Hvaldimir was quickly named after Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Norwegian word for whale: “Hval”.

When Hvaldimir was discovered on August 31st, it was speculated by One Whale that Hvaldimir had been shot and foul play was the cause of death. However, the BBC has since reported that Norwegian police reports conclude that Hvaldimir was not shot to death. Despite official police reports, One Whale continues to believe that there is more to the story and that Hvaldimir’s death has not been solved. In their most recent Instagram post, One Whale states: “We pray that we were wrong about a shooting, that Hvaldimir's death WAS an accident, without evidence of violence...we don't care about being "right" - we just want the truth, because we loved him.” The Instagram post also claimed that Hvaldimir’s death was not a priority for Norwegian police.

It is believed that Hvaldimir was fourteen or fifteen years old when he passed away. Though many speculate that his former life included work as a Russian spy, very little is known about his life before he was found with Russian equipment. His years in the public eye, though, have been well documented. From playing fetch during the 2019 Rugby World Cup to rescuing a GoPro for a kayaker in Oslo, Hvaldimir has shown that he loves human interaction. According to Joachim Larssen, the kayaker who interacted with Hvaldimir in the Oslo harbor, it was apparent that Hvaldimir had been trained and that he was far more tame than other beluga whales. Though no one has ever taken responsibility for training Hvaldimir, it has been proposed that a love for human interaction could have potentially led to his death.

The ocean waters Hvaldimir was found in are known for their heavy traffic. The Risavika Port is visited regularly by local boats, ferries, and cruise ships on a daily basis. Due to Hvaldimir’s known love of humans and the boats that carry them, it is possible that his death was caused by an accident between himself and a ship or extenuating circumstances related to maritime traffic. Whatever the case may be, Hvaldimir lived an intersting life and was loved by many. Whether the theories of him being a defected Russian spy are true or not, there is no doubt that Hvaldimir was an iconic symbol of Arctic life and conservation.