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.
Then on September 1 2024 its body was found floating at sea, near the town of Risavika, on Norway’s south-western coast.
Had the long arm of Putin’s Russia caught up with the reluctant beluga?
I’m glad the BBC decided to close their article with a bit of humor about the tragic death of a poor abused animal who had a very short taste of freedom. Many guffaws are assumed to have occurred.
The entire joke is about people repeatedly being targeted and killed by Russia. It’s generally a dark joke.
I understand the joke. I just thought it was in incredibly poor taste in this context.
That whale better watch out, they might throw him off a balcony
In September 2024, Hvaldimir was found dead, apparently from a stick lodged in its body.
It’s too late, they already got him. Must’ve hit a tree on the way down.
The poor whale shot itself in the back of the head twice before jumping off the roof of a 20 storey building. As it’s tradition with those who have offended Putin.
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.
