Summary
In 2019, a beluga whale wearing a “Equipment St Petersburg” harness appeared off Norway, sparking rumors of it being a Russian “spy whale.”
Nicknamed Hvaldimir, the social whale showed signs of prior training. Dr. Olga Shpak, a marine expert, believes Hvaldimir—formerly called Andruha—likely escaped from a Russian Arctic military base where it was trained to guard, not spy.
In September 2024, Hvaldimir was found dead, apparently from a stick lodged in its body.
I came to say this almost exactly word for word. 5 storey would have been enough, but hey. If you gotta make a splash, make a splash.