“Hvaldimir, the name given to the adult male beluga whale discovered in Norwegian waters in mid-spring 2019, has, in the years since, become the topic of international speculation, increased and often heated debate, reached global viral stardom and above all, captured the hearts and minds of all who encounter him,” wrote Hugh Francis Anderson in Oceanographic’s cover feature for Issue 13, titled This Is Hvaldimir.

“And while the origins of Hvaldimir remain unknown, claims that he was trained as a spy by the Russian Navy have gripped public and media attention; his name a portmanteau of the Russian name Vladimir and the Norwegian word for whale, hval (pronounced val),” continued Francis Anderson.  

Now, the famous beluga whale was found dead in the southwest of Norway by a father and son who were out fishing off Risavika Bay, according to Norwegian public broadcaster NRK.

“Hvaldimir was not just a beluga whale; he was a beacon of hope, a symbol of connection, and a reminder of the deep bond between humans and the natural world,” read a social media post by Marine Mind, a nonprofit organisation that was tracking the whale’s movements.

The beluga whale was first spotted off Norway’s northern coast in 2019, equipped with a man-made harness which had the words ‘Equipment St Petersburg’ on it. As the whale seemed accustomed to humans, followed boats and even fetched a rugby ball tossed into the water, it was widely speculated that Hvaldimir was a ‘spy whale’ which might have escaped an enclosure after being trained by the Russian navy.

The Russian government never responded to the speculation.

After the whale was found dead, it was lifted out of the water with a crane and taken to a nearby harbour for examination on Monday.

“We’ve managed to retrieve his remains and put him in a cooled area, in preparation for a necropsy by the veterinary institute that can help determine what really happened to him,” marine biologist Sebastian Strand told NRK. A report on Hvaldimir’s death is expected “within three weeks”, a spokeswoman for the Norwegian Veterinary Institute said.