OSLO, Sept 9 (Askume) – A beluga whale found in Norwegian waters five years ago with a harness around its neck was found on Aug. 31 with a stick stuck in its mouth. Its death was not linked to human activity, police said on Monday.
Hvaldimir is the Norwegian word for whale and a symbol for the name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Corpse.
The animal has been in the media spotlight ever since it was spotted off Norway’s Arctic coast in 2019 wearing what looked like a small camera holder in a harness.
Norway and Russia share a maritime border in the Arctic, leading to jokes that the whale was a Russian spy.
Norwegian police launched an investigation after two animal rights groups filed a complaint about the animal’s death.
A post-mortem revealed a stick 35 centimetres (14 inches) long and 3 centimetres (1.2 inches) wide was stuck in the whale’s mouth, South West Regional Police said in a statement.
“The post-mortem revealed that his stomach was empty and most of his organs were damaged,” police said.
“The investigations that have been carried out have found no evidence that human activity directly caused the death of Hvardimir.”
As a result, he said, police would not investigate further.
Animal rights groups claim the whale was shot. On Monday, police said Khavaldimir had some injuries but they were “purely superficial,” adding that there was “no evidence that Khavaldimir was shot.”
It said the full report would be ready within two weeks.
