() – The death of a beloved white whale has become a mystery in Norway as animal rights groups speculate whether it was actually killed.
The whale, nicknamed Hvaldimir, shot to fame in 2019 after being spotted wearing a specially made harness with mounts for a camera, sparking claims the animal may have been trained by Russia’s military.
Two Norwegian animal rights groups said Wednesday that the whale was “shot dead” after it was found dead in Hvaldimir over the weekend in southern Norway.
OneWhale and NOAH are calling for a criminal investigation “based on compelling evidence that the whale was killed by gunshot wounds,” wrote in an Instagram post OneWhalewhich describes itself as a “non-profit organization committed to protecting Hvaldimir and relocating a wild population of belugas.”
He added that “several veterinarians, biologists and ballistics experts have reviewed [las] evidence of Hvaldimir’s injuries, determining that the whale’s death was the result of a criminal act.”
The post included images of what appeared to be holes and streaks of blood on the whale’s lifeless body. has not been able to independently verify its claim that the whale was shot.
The organisations filed a police complaint with the Sandnes Police District and the Norwegian National Economic and Environmental Crime Investigation and Prosecution Authority.
The Southwestern Police District confirmed to on Wednesday that it had received a request to investigate Hvaldimir’s death, though the unit has not yet determined whether it will open a formal investigation.
“I don’t think we’ve had a case like this before,” said Southwest Police District Superintendent Victor Fenne-jensen, who declined to comment on whether his department investigated rumors that the whale was a Russian spy.
He added that Hvaldimir was “something of a celebrity.”
However, Marine Mind, another nonprofit advocating for the protection of marine life, called on the public to “refrain from speculation” until the country’s Veterinary Institute has completed its own investigation.
It was Marine Mind that found Hvaldimir’s body in the bay. “When we found Hvaldimir on Saturday, it was not immediately possible to determine the cause of death, so it is important to refrain from speculation until the institute has completed its work,” Marine Mind posted on its Facebook page on Wednesday.
Prior to Hvaldimir’s death, OneWhale and NOAH had been collaborating to relocate her to a safer area in northern Norway, and had obtained permits from the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries. has reached out to Norway’s Ministry of Climate and Environment for comment.
Norwegian public broadcaster NRK reported that her body was found floating in Risavika Bay in southern Norway on Saturday by a father and son who were fishing, according to the Associated Press (AP).
The beluga, whose name combines the Norwegian word for whale – hval – and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was lifted from the water by crane and taken to a nearby port where experts examined it, AP reported.
Marine biologist Sebastian Strand told NRK that the cause of Hvaldimir’s death was not immediately clear and that no major external injuries were seen on the animal, AP reported.
Back in 2019, experts told that Hvaldimir was a trained animal, and evidence suggested the whale had come from Russia.
Jorgen Ree Wiig, a marine biologist with the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, told that Hvaldimir’s harness appeared “specially made” and had “GoPro camera mounts on either side of him.”
The fact that the harness clips read “Equipment St. Petersburg” only contributed to the popular theory that she came from Murmansk, Russia, and was trained by the Russian Navy.
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