A beluga whale has been found dead in Norway, which, as the country's authorities assumed, could have been used by Russian structures to gather information. Five years ago, the marine animal swam to the Norwegian coast wearing a harness with a video camera and the logo of a St. Petersburg company. This was reported by the BBC, according to UNN.
Details
It is noted that the Norwegians gave the whale the nickname "Hvaldimir," which combines the word "hval" (whale in Norwegian) and the name Vladimir, with an obvious reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The death of the whale was reported to AFP by Sebastian Strand, the founder of the Marine Mind NGO, which has been tracking Hvaldimir's movements for several years.
According to him, it is still difficult to judge the cause of death of the marine animal, as there were no obvious injuries on its body.
We were able to lift his remains and put them in a cold place to prepare for an autopsy at the veterinary institute,
Experts estimate that the whale died at a fairly young age: it was about 15 years old, while whales can live up to 60 years.
Addendum
Khvaldimir was discovered off the coast of Norway in April 2019. It was spotted by fishermen near the islands of Ingea and Rålvsøy when it swam past their boats. This was surprising - beluga whales are rarely found so far south of the polar latitudes.
At the same time, the whale's body was pulled together by a harness of straps, which was a camera mount and a clasp with the inscription in English "Equipment St. Petersburg" (i.e. "Equipment St. Petersburg").
Norwegian intelligence launched an investigation into the incident and concluded that the whale was most likely involved in a Russian research program.
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