Hvaldimir, the white beluga whale dubbed the” Russian spy whale” that was  , found dead over the weekend , off , Norway, was most likely shot, animal-rights groups said Wednesday, calling for an immediate investigation.
One Whale and NOAH, two teams that had been monitoring the whale’s activities for the past five decades, said , they had , filed a police report , “based on , convincing proof that the whale was killed by gun wounds”, they said in a joint declaration.
” Many professionals, biologists, and forensics experts have reviewed data of Hvaldimir’s accidents, determining that the fish’s death was the result of a legal act”, they said.
” The injuries on the whale are alarming — it is shocking … it is crucial that the police are involved quickly”, added NOAH leader and veterinarian , Siri Martinsen.
A full autopsy is underway but , results wo n’t be available for two to three weeks, the , Norwegian Veterinary Institute , said Monday, according to , BBC News.
Hvaldimir was young and healthy at 15 to 20 years old, and should have lived 40 to 60 times. He was  , found drifting in , Risavika Bay , in southern , Norway , on Saturday by a father and son who were out hunting.
The fish’s title was a combo compilation and joke on the Norway word for dolphin, “hval”, and Russian President , Vladimir Putin. The marine species began visiting angling ships off the coast of , Norway , in 2019, sporting an empty saddle for a live-action lens, which sparked speculation that the creature had escaped Russian prison.
The harness was labeled, in English,” Equipment of , St. Petersburg”.
At the time , Russia , was coming under scrutiny for training whales, dolphins and other marine mammals to be part of a unique special ops force, though the country’s military has denied such programs exist.
Hvaldimir gained a following after Norwegian marine biologists removed the harness.
In May of last year, the whale had been spotted , swimming off the west coast of , Sweden, about 1, 250 miles south of where he had first been spotted. Their normal habitat is , the Arctic.
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