Death of 'Russian spy' whale Hvaldimir not caused by humans, say Norway police

OSLO (Reuters) - A beluga whale discovered with a harness strapped around its neck in Norwegian waters five years ago - and found dead on Aug. 31 - had a stick stuck in its mouth and its death was not related to human activity, police said on Monday.

The body of Hvaldimir - a combination of the Norwegian word for whale and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin - was spotted a week ago floating in the sea by a father and son fishing in southern Norway.

The animal became the subject of media attention since it was discovered off Norway's Arctic coast in 2019 wearing a harness with what appeared to be a mount for a small camera.

Norway and Russia share a maritime border in the Arctic, leading to jokes that the whale was a Russian spy.

Norwegian police had opened an investigation after two animal rights groups filed a complaint into the death of the animal.

An autopsy showed a stick measuring 35 cm in length (14 in) and 3 cm wide (1.2 in) was stuck in the whale's mouth, police for the South West district said in a statement.

"The autopsy showed that its stomach was empty. In addition, most organs had broken down," police said.

"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."

As a result, police would not investigate further, they added.

The animal rights groups had alleged the whale had been shot dead. On Monday, police said Hvaldimir had sustained some injuries but that they were "completely superficial", adding "there was no evidence suggesting that Hvaldimir was shot".

A full report will be ready in two weeks, it said.

(Reporting by Gwladys Fouche in Oslo; Editing by Ros Russell)