Summary
In 2019, a beluga whale wearing a “Equipment St Petersburg” harness appeared off Norway, sparking rumors of it being a Russian “spy whale.”
Nicknamed Hvaldimir, the social whale showed signs of prior training. Dr. Olga Shpak, a marine expert, believes Hvaldimir—formerly called Andruha—likely escaped from a Russian Arctic military base where it was trained to guard, not spy.
In September 2024, Hvaldimir was found dead, apparently from a stick lodged in its body.
I’m glad the BBC decided to close their article with a bit of humor about the tragic death of a poor abused animal who had a very short taste of freedom. Many guffaws are assumed to have occurred.
The entire joke is about people repeatedly being targeted and killed by Russia. It’s generally a dark joke.
I understand the joke. I just thought it was in incredibly poor taste in this context.