A beluga whale named Hvaldimir, who was suspected of spying for Russia because of a video camera attached to it, was found dead in Norwegian territorial waters.

The Norwegian media outlet NRK reported that the whale could have died from wounds inflicted by birds.

Fishermen discovered the whale’s carcass on Saturday in the Gulf of Risavik in southern Norway. The beluga was lifted out of the water with a crane and taken to a nearby harbor, where experts will examine it.

“Unfortunately, we found Hvaldimir floating in the sea. He died, but it is not yet clear what the cause of death was,” marine biologist Sebastian Strand shared, adding that the animal did not show any serious external injuries.

The whale, 4.2 meters long and weighing 1,225 kilograms, was first spotted by fishermen off the northern island of Ingeyja, near the Arctic city of Hammerfest, in April 2019. It was wearing ammunition, a small camera mount, and a buckle with the inscription “Equipment St. Petersburg.”

This raised suspicions that the beluga was a “spy whale.”

Experts state that the Russian navy is known to train whales for military purposes.

Over the years, the beluga whale has been spotted in several Norwegian coastal towns, and it quickly became apparent that it is not afraid of people and willingly “plays” with them.

The Norwegians gave the marine mammal the nickname Hvaldimir, from “hval” in Norwegian for “whale,” and the second part from the name “Vladimir,” indicating its connection to Russia.

Last year, a beluga whale, first spotted in 2019 in Norwegian waters, appeared off the coast of Sweden.

The Russian Black Sea Fleet dolphins are likely to be trained at the former location of the State Oceanarium Research Center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. British intelligence reported that the Russian Navy uses beluga whales and seals in Arctic waters.

In 2022, satellite images showed that Russians had placed dolphin cages at the entrance to Sevastopol Bay. At that time, according to Naval News, the number of dolphins in the bay was estimated at 3 to 4.