Mysterious death of "Russian spy" whale takes unexpected turn

Animal rights groups on Wednesday said gunfire killed a beluga whale that rose to fame in Norway after its unusual harness sparked suspicions the creature was trained by Russia as a spy.

The organizations NOAH and One Whale said they had filed a complaint with Norwegian police asking them to open a "criminal investigation."

Nicknamed "Hvaldimir" in a pun on the Norwegian word for whale, hval, and its purported ties to Moscow , the white beluga first appeared off the coast in Norway's far-northern Finnmark region in 2019.

He was found dead on Saturday in a bay on the country's southwestern coast.

His body was transported on Monday to a local branch of the Norwegian Veterinary Institute for autopsy.

The report is expected "within three weeks," a spokeswoman for the institute said.

"He had multiple bullet wounds around his body," the head of One Whale, Regina Crosby Haug, who said she viewed Hvaldimir's body on Monday, told AFP.

One Whale was founded to track the beluga, which had become a celebrity in Norway.

"The injuries on the whale are alarming and of a nature that cannot rule out a criminal act — it is shocking," NOAH director Siri Martinsen said in a statement.

"Given the suspicion of a criminal act, it is crucial that the police are involved quickly," she said.

A third organization which also tracked the whale's movements, Marine Mind, said it found Hvaldimir's dead body floating in the water on Saturday around 2:30 p.m. (1230 GMT).

"There was nothing to immediately reveal the cause of death," director Sebastian Strand told AFP. "We saw markings but it's too early to say what they were."

He said some of the markings were probably caused by marine birds, but said there was no explanation for others at this stage.

With an estimated age of 15 to 20, Hvaldimir was relatively young for a beluga whale, which can live to between 40 and 60 years of age.

When he was found in 2019, Norwegian marine biologists removed a man-made harness with a mount suited for an action camera and the words "Equipment St. Petersburg" printed in English on the plastic clasps.

Norwegian officials said Hvaldimir may have escaped an enclosure and may have been trained by the Russian navy as he appeared to be accustomed to humans.

The Russian military has a history of trying to weaponize sea mammals , CBS News previously reported. Last year, British military spies said Russia appeared to be training combat dolphins to counter Ukrainian forces.

Moscow has never issued any official reaction to speculation that he could be a "Russian spy."

"We are heartbroken," One Whale said in a statement after Hvaldimir was found dead. "We are angry, too, as we have had to fight so hard, for so long to help him out of danger. And he was finally so close to having a better life."