"'Russian Spy' Whale Found Dead in Norway"

Hvaldimir, we hardly knew ye.*

From Agence France-Presse via the Moscow Times, September 2: 

A Beluga whale whose unusual harness sparked suspicions it was trained by Russia for spying purposes has been found dead in Norway, according to an NGO that tracks the animal's movements.

Nicknamed "Hvaldimir," a pun on the Norwegian word for whale hval and the Russian name Vladimir, the beluga first appeared off the coast of Norway's far-northern Finnmark region in 2019.

At the time, Norwegian marine biologists discovered a harness on the animal with a mount suited for an action camera and the words "Equipment St. Petersburg" printed on plastic clasps....

....MUCH MORE

*Actually we knew a bit about the cetacean who should have been named Whaley McWhaleface. Previously:

April 29, 2019—WTH: "Whale with harness could be Russian weapon, say Norwegian experts"

May 2019—"Satellite Images Reveal Russian Navy's Secret Arctic Marine Mammal Facility" 

September 2019—Russia's Spy Whales Now Under Tighter Security

....Of all the stories that came out after the fishermen saw the whale-wearing-a-harness  and realized it seemed pretty at-ease around people was this from one of the whale watchers who went out to look at the Beluga. First the background from the above mentioned May Barents Observer story:

....The beluga whale wearing a harness with mounts for a GoPro camera that first was spotted by local fishermen on Norway’s Barents Sea coast in late April is still swimming around in the harbor of Hammerfest.

Making big headlines in Norway and around the globe, the locals name him ‘Whaledimir’ (Hvaldimir in Norwegian) after national broadcaster NRK made a poll asking their audience to name the animal. Today the beluga is stripped free from the harness, but is refusing to leave his new life of freedom in Norway. Experts say the whale will likely not survive without being fed by humans....

To which we added:

Hvaldimir? What kind of name is Hvaldimir?
Whaley McWhaleface should have been a lock.

There is some question whether this Beluga returning a woman's dropped phone is Hvaldimar or just some rando phone retrieving cetacean:



Here's the story and video of the retrieval.

Incredible Footage Shows Whale Retrieve Phone Woman Dropped In The Ocean

 Then in May 2023 when the whale was seen down south, vacationing off Oslo:

Russian Spy Whale Seen In Norwegian Waters

Well, at least we still have Boaty: