What happened to the "spy whale" that can help people pick up mobile phones?

In 2019, a beluga whale suspected to be a Russian spy attracted the attention of the world: not only did it have a harness that looked like military equipment, it was also very friendly, and its behavior and habits were somewhat different from those of a normal beluga whale.

However, on August 31, this much-watched "spy whale" suddenly passed away...

The beluga whale, nicknamed Hvaldimir, was found dead on August 31 | Jorgen Ree Wiig

The spy whale, nicknamed Hvaldimir, was found dead in a busy traffic area in Norway. Two conservation groups claimed that he was shot and asked the police to investigate. But on Monday, the police released preliminary autopsy results, which showed no evidence that Hvaldimir was shot, and the real cause of death would have to wait for the final autopsy to be known .

The special life of a 'spy whale'

On April 26, 2019, fishermen found this unique white whale in Norwegian waters. It was wearing a special harness with the words "St. Petersburg Equipment" written on it, and GoPro cameras could be placed on both sides. People speculated that this might be a "spy whale" trained by the Russian Navy, but it escaped for some unknown reason.

People named it Hvaldimi, "hval" means whale in Norwegian, and "dimir" comes from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russian officials have never made any statement on the claim of "spy whale", but if Hvaldimi really received military training, its past life should have been very difficult, and its animal welfare may even be worse than that of ordinary performing whales .

Hvaldimir interacts closely with humans and even asks for food｜ Jorgen Ree Wiig

Hvaldimir's behavior after being discovered further confirmed its abnormality.

The male beluga was about 10 years old when he was found. He was overly affectionate , not only actively seeking out humans like a lost or abandoned domesticated animal, but also playing rugby with them and picking up cell phones that people dropped in the water. Hvaldimir even swam up to people's calves, letting them touch his head and back, and repeatedly extending the underside of his fins to high-five them.

This is not a good thing for Hvaldimir, as this dependence is a reflection of his previous life in captivity. The "friendly" interaction with humans is likely just a wake-up call for the conditioned reflexes he learned during training.

Therefore, after examining it and helping it to untie the hooks and fishing lines stuck in its body, the scientists tried to avoid contact with it to prevent it from losing its hard-earned freedom again.

Searching for love alone

Since being discovered, Hvaldimir has been active in Norwegian waters, slowly moving south and seemingly unable to find a suitable place to live .

It stayed in a small town called Kines for six months, following fishing boats to and from different farms every day. But after being injured by the propeller of a small boat, it left here.

A farm in the small town of Kines | Documentary "A Tale of a Whale - Hvaldimir's Journey in Norway"

It also encountered a pilot whale that had lived alone for 20 years, and scientists were looking forward to it settling down with another whale. Unfortunately, Hvaldimir eventually left, perhaps because there were no live fish for it to hunt in the nearby fishing grounds, or perhaps because the pilot whales were not its own kind after all. Researchers have never found that Hvaldimir has come into contact with its own kind - as a highly social and gregarious animal, it is undoubtedly a very lonely beluga whale.

No matter where he goes, Hvaldimir's favorite resting place is always the catamaran-shaped ferry and maintenance ship. Scientists speculate that the double hull of the catamaran can surround it, as if there is a tribe around, providing it with a sense of security and belonging . Similar behavior has also been observed in other solitary social beluga whales.

Hvaldimir rests in the safety of the boat | Documentary "A Tale of a Whale - Hvaldimir's Journey in Norway"

Starting in May last year, Hvaldimir suddenly accelerated southward and entered Swedish waters. OneWhale, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting Hvaldimir, speculated that it might be driven by hormones, looking for a mate, or just looking for other beluga whales.

However, Hvaldimir's natural instincts were weakened by the long-term captivity he had experienced before, and he swam in the wrong direction . Beluga whales are suitable for living in cold waters at high latitudes, and the waters of Sweden have never been found to be suitable for beluga whales to survive. In other words, if he really wanted to find companions by struggling to go south, he would probably end up with nothing. Scientists are also worried about whether he can find enough food in the waters so far south.

Fortunately, in August last year, Hvaldimir finally turned north and reappeared in various salmon farms in Norway. He gained weight, and those who were worried about him finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Hvaldimir's route southwards over the past few years | Marine Mind

Efforts and failures to protect Hvaldimir

In order to protect Hvaldimir, the private conservation organization OneWhale was established in 2020. This team includes whale researchers, scientific consultants, marine mammal veterinarians and volunteers, who will regularly monitor Hvaldimir's health and keep in touch with local residents to ensure its safety .

Hvaldimir attracts a large number of curious tourists, and OneWhale educates tourists and intervenes in tourists' uncivilized behavior and close contact with Hvaldimir. Hvaldimir sometimes damages propellers, sensors and other equipment in commercial salmon farms, and inevitably has been accidentally injured by ships many times, so protectors have been communicating with fishermen in nearby areas.

Hvaldimir's interactions with humans seem beautiful, but they are actually traces of his captivity and training. | Rich German/OneWhale

OneWhale hopes to relocate Hvaldimir to the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard , which has a resident population of wild beluga whales.

If he could live in suitable and safe natural waters, Hvaldimir could hunt, forage, dive and explore in the most natural way without being disturbed by tourists, and even integrate into the local population.

If he hadn’t died suddenly, Hvaldimir might have witnessed the establishment of the world’s first whale sanctuary｜FRED BUYLE

But there were disagreements within OneWhale about this plan.

Beluga societies are usually very active and inclusive, but the Svalbard beluga population is small, isolated and non-migratory. There are concerns that the beluga whales here may not welcome Hvaldimir, who has always lived alone, and that his joining the local beluga whales may bring foreign diseases or adverse genetic mutations.

In addition, the remote location and extreme weather of Svalbard make the road to resettlement difficult and expensive; even if the transfer is successful, a temporary fence will need to be built locally to allow Hvaldimir to adapt to the transition first. For Hvaldimir, the transfer will bring a certain amount of stress. In order to monitor its condition, scientists also need to use steel rods to fix the tracking device on his back, which may cause wounds and lead to infection.

Crosby Haug, founder of OneWhale and a member of Marine Mind, believed that her interactions with Hvaldimir were too frequent. | Joakim Eskildsen/ The New York Times

After a heated debate, most of OneWhale's scientific advisors resigned and formed a new conservation organization, Marine Mind, to independently monitor and protect Hvaldimir.

Compared to the first few years, Hvaldimir has shown less interest in boats and humans and has become more feral . Marine Mind's scientific advisor believes that Crosby Haug, one of the founders of OneWhale, lacked proper training and spent too much time interacting with Hvaldimir in the sea; moreover, these unwanted interactions may have reinforced its dependence on humans and inadvertently encouraged tourists to do the same.

MarineMind scientists tend to adopt an observational attitude, avoid social interactions, and intervene only in emergency situations until the best solution is found | Marine Mind

Death mystery

Regardless of whether the decision to relocate the animal was correct, OneWhale obtained permission from the Norwegian government in June this year and plans to officially start the operation next year . But no one could have imagined that Hvaldmir's life would end so suddenly.

On August 31, a father and son found its body while fishing in southern Norway. After examining the body, Sebastian Strand, a marine biologist at Marine Mind, said that Hvaldimir had no obvious external injuries , the cause of death was not yet clear, and it was in good condition before.

But a few days later, after viewing the body, the head of OneWhale said that Hvaldimir had many gunshot wounds and believed that he was shot. They and another conservation organization NOAH submitted a report to the local police and the National Bureau of Economic and Environmental Crime Investigation and Prosecution, hoping that the authorities would launch a criminal investigation.

OneWhale posted photos of its death and believed it was shot; but Norwegian police denied this｜OneWhale

On Monday, Norwegian police released preliminary autopsy results. The autopsy found no evidence of murder, as none of Hvaldimir's wounds were deep enough to be fatal or affect his organs, and no bullet was found in an X-ray.

The autopsy results are not enough to reveal the true cause of Hvaldimir's death, but they found that there was a stick about 35 cm long and 3 cm wide in Hvaldimir's mouth, and there was no food in his stomach and his organs were damaged . They will conduct further autopsies and the results will be announced later this month.

However, OneWhale and NOAH are not satisfied with the result and they hope that the police can continue the investigation.

Over the past few years, a number of whale and marine conservation organizations have undertaken most of the monitoring, feeding, medical and civic education work. It is undeniable that these organizations have been making practical efforts for Hvaldimir's safety and health.

A white whale that was once in captivity, and occasionally became the subject of human photos and reports, drifted alone for thousands of miles, and reunited with other white whales was out of reach. Now, it has left alone.

Hvaldimir is about 15 years old this year, which is still very young compared to the average life span of beluga whales. We have witnessed it gradually regaining its nature in the sea, and we hoped that it could have its own space and freedom; but now, such an opportunity no longer exists.

Author: Bowl

Editor: Mai Mai, Xiao Towel