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fullscreen Image from April 2019, when Hvaldimir was first discovered in Norwegian Arctic waters. Photo: Jorgen Ree Wiig/NTB/TT
The gregarious beluga Hvaldimir, who caused quite a stir when he appeared in both Norwegian and Swedish waters, is dead according to Norwegian media.
He was discovered at the end of April 2019 and attracted attention because he was highly contact-seeking and equipped with a camera harness marked “Equipment from Saint Petersburg”, leading to speculation that he had been trained to carry out Russian espionage.
Since then, he has been observed on several occasions, mainly in Norwegian coastal cities.
The whale was found lifeless in the water off Rogaland on Saturday and has been brought ashore. There are no obvious injuries on the carcass and the plan now is to do an autopsy, according to NTB.