The "Spy whale" was not subjected to gunfire.
In August, the controversial "spy whale" Hvaldimir was discovered deceased in a Norwegian fjord. Animal vigilantes suspected foul play due to apparent wounds. However, vets concluded that bacterial infection was the most probable reason for the demise.
deviating from initial assumptions, it seems that the "spy whale" Hvaldimir wasn't shot in Norway. Vets performing the autopsy concluded that bacterial infection was likely the primary cause of death. This might have started with a mouth injury, as per the Norwegian Police, who referred to the Norwegian Veterinary Institute's final report. No gunshot wounds were detected, according to Amund Preede Revheim, head of the environmental division in the South-West police district.
Vet experts and police forensics found that while there were various shallow wounds on the whale's skin, these weren't gunshot injuries. No projectiles or metal fragments were discovered.
Whale Spy or Therapy Whale?
Hvaldimir, derived from the Norwegian term for whale and Russian President Vladimir Putin's first name, appeared first in 2019 close to Russian waters, bringing a small camera attachment and the marking "Equipment St. Petersburg" on its body. This stirred speculation that the unusually friendly whale could be a Russian spy. Alternatively, it could be a therapy whale. In August 2024, Hvaldimir was found dead in a fjord near Stavanger.
Animal advocacy groups OneWhale and Noah reported the case to Norwegian authorities, drawing attention to recorded injuries and the collective assessment of several vets, biologists, and ballistic experts that Hvaldimir's demise resulted from a criminal act.
Despite initial suspicions of foul play, further investigations revealed no evidence of gunshot wounds or projectiles on Hvaldimir, the deceased 'spy whale'. Instead, vets attributed Hvaldimir's demise to a bacterial infection, possibly starting from a mouth injury.
