Russian 'spy whale' likely passed away due to bacterial infection

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A beluga whale that lived off Norway's coast, who raised speculation that it was a Russian spy due to its harness, was not shot dead as claimed by animal rights groups but instead died of a bacterial infection, said Norwegian police on Friday, AP reported.

Norway's Veterinary Institute's final autopsy "concludes that the probable cause of death was bacterial infection -- possibly as a result of a wound in the mouth from a stuck stick," according to Amund Preede Revheim, head of the North Sea and Environment section of the police in south-western Norway, AP reported.

"There have been no findings from the autopsy that indicate that the whale has been shot," he said, adding that the autopsy had been "made difficult by the fact that many of the whale's organs were very rotten." As there were no signs of foul play, there was no reason to start a criminal investigation into its death, Preede Revheim said to AP.

According to AP, the tame beluga, first spotted not far from Russian water in 2019, had a harness reading "Equipment St. Petersburg" and had been nicknamed "Hvaldimir", by combining the Norwegian word for whale "hval" and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

It was found swimming in a southern Norway bay on August 31.

In September, animal advocate groups One Whale and NOAH filed a police report saying that the animal's wounds suggested it was intentionally killed, AP reported.

They pointed at multiple wounds found on the animal's skin, including what was thought as a bullet hole.

"Assessments made by the Veterinary Institute and the police's forensic technicians are that these are not gunshot wounds. X-rays of the chest and head were carried out without any projectiles or other metal fragments being detected," police said in a statement, AP reported.

Earlier, police had mentioned that a stick measuring around 35 centimetres long and 3 centimetres wide was found wedged in the animal's mouth, its stomach was empty and its organs had broken down, police said to AP.

No details were given further.

The 14-foot-long whale, weighing 1,225 kilograms was first spotted by fisherman not far from the Arctic town of Hammerfest, AP reported.

Its harness, along with a suspected mount for a small camera, led to media speculations that it was a supposed "spy whale".

According to experts, the Russian navy is also known to have trained whales for military purposes. Media reports also wondered if the whale might have been trained as a therapy animal.

There was no immediate response from OneWhale or NOAH, AP reported.

(With inputs from AP)