Hvladimir whale

The 26 April 2019 marks the day a Beluga whale was first noticed in the seas in northern Norway. In itself, not an uncommon scenario, however, what made this one stand out was the fact that he had a harness strapped to him and was exceptionally well used to humans. Clearly not a wild whale. 

Authorities were contacted and the whale was examined. They estimated his year of birth to be around 2009, so approximately 10 years old at the time. The harness was removed and the inscription of "Equipment St. Petersburg" discovered. This obviously made the whale very likely to be of Russian origin.

Russia denied any involvement from their side, although which well respected espionage company is going to admit guilt when they get caught!?!

The other possibility is that he escaped a marine mammal military training facility. The Russian navy has been training dolphins and seals for years. Dolphins were used in the black seas during the cold war and thereafter. They were used to help divers by moving equipment, protecting ships from mines and also patrolling. In some instances also dispatching fatal blows. Seals and beluga whales were implemented later. 

The infamous 'whale jail' which caused international outcry in 2018, following drone footage that spread around the world like wildfire. it contained 11 orcas and 87 beluga whales kept in suboptimal conditions. They were, supposedly, caught to be sold on. After a few months of international pressure they were, supposedly, released back into the wild. 

Following the removal of the harness the whale was closely monitored, and fed by local whale authorities. It became very clear that he was used to captivity and poorly equipped to survive without assistance.  

The Norwegian people affectionally started calling him "Hvladimir", a combination of the Russian president's first name with an 'H" for hval, which means whale in Norwegian. 

He became a star with people flogging to his most common sighting areas to see him and interact with him. He would swim up to boats and perform tricks like playing fetch with toys and eating fish out of people's hands. 

He moved around a bit and headed down to Sweden, attracted by a higher density of humans, but where it became more difficult to feed himself as there is less available fish. He lost weight and also became injured by more frequent boat collisions. 

Discussions ensued to move him to the arctic where wild beluga families thrive. Unfortunately, this never came to fruition as various conservation factions never managed to agree what the best action for Hvladimir would be. 

On the 31 August 2024 he was found dead floating off the coast of Norway. He was taken for an autopsy and the official report declared the cause of death to be a bacterial infection following a stick that had become lodged in his mouth.  Animal rights groups are calling foul play and supposedly some sources report there being bullet wounds seen on the whale. However the police report does not include this and only mentions superficial wounds from boat interactions, denying any potential murderous activity. 

Unfortunately this will likely remain another unanswered mystery and the only certainty is the large hole this little guy will leave on the coast of the northern seas.