Norway – Hvaldimir, a Beluga whale suspected of being used as a spy by Russia, died in late August, and officials have released his cause of death. As reported by CNN, a necropsy revealed a stick lodged in the whale’s mouth (measuring 14 inches by 1.2 inches) and an empty stomach.

In a statement, the authorities said, “The autopsy showed that its stomach was empty. In addition, most organs had broken down. There is nothing in the investigations that have been carried out to establish that it is human activity that has directly led to Hvaldimir’s death.”

When Hvaldimir’s body was initially found on August 31, there was suspicion that he had been shot, but the necropsy revealed that the wounds visible on his body were superficial, and did not contribute to his death.

Hvaldimir became known as the Russian spy whale after being spotted in 2019 wearing a harness and a mount that appeared to be for a camera. Someone was able to remove the whale’s harness and Hvaldimir ended up staying in the area, approaching boats and appearing to be familiar with human interaction.

Rest easy Hvaldimir.

Image via Ein Dahmer, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

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