Alana M. Carroll
Anchor Contributor
The body of a beluga whale was discovered on August 31, 2024, by a father and son who were fishing on the southern coast of Norway. The remains in question were not just of any whale, but those of Hvaldimir, a celebrity in his country and a viral sensation across the globe. His death was unusual and shocked his fans worldwide; Hvaldimir was estimated to only be around 15 years old at his time of death, despite beluga whales frequently living up to 60 years in the wild.
OneWhale, an organization devoted to protecting the whale and eventually moving him to a less populous region, falsely claimed that his death was due to gunshot wounds. This was found to be incorrect upon the release of preliminary information from a necropsy performed on his remains. Instead, it was found that Hvaldimir had a large stick lodged in his mouth, preventing him from consuming the fish he needed to survive. Supporting this was the discovery that his organs had been losing function and his stomach had no contents inside of it.
Who was Hvaldimir, and why was he such a phenomenon both in Norway and internationally?
The name of the whale, a combination of the Norwegian word “hval,” meaning “whale,” and the Russian name “Vladimir,” was given to him shortly after his discovery in April of 2019. Hvaldimir was found swimming alone in Finnmark County of Norway. This was already unusual, as belugas are known to be social mammals, forming and living in groups, called pods, of up to 25 individuals. Even more strange was the harness he was wearing, bearing a holster for a camera and a label reading “Equipment of St. Petersburg,” leading many to speculate if he had been an escaped military animal. Subsequent articles and media centers labeled him as a Russian spy whale, inspiring his name, which was voted on in a poll published by NRK, the Norwegian national broadcaster. The name won with over 30% of the votes, beating out suggestions such as “Agent James Beluga” and “Joar” (after the fisherman who bravely dove into the frigid waters to loosen the harness).
The cetacean was immediately a sensation with videos of his antics uploaded to social media in the coming months, including videos of him playing fetch with a water ring, cheekily snatching the GoPro of a diver, mouthing at a disinterested seagull in an attempt to play, and returning a woman’s phone to her after it had fallen into the water. His friendly nature, while a common trait for beluga whales, sparked theories that he may have been a therapy whale rather than one trained for espionage. These have been backed by suggestions that Hvaldimir was actually a therapy whale, named Semyon, who was trained to entertain children at a diving center in Russia. Another potential explanation was that he had been held captive in the Russian “whale jail” yet managed to escape before the rest of the beluga whales were released in late 2019.
It is likely that Hvaldimir’s origin will never be known, but what is an undeniable fact is that he brought joy and smiles to people, both in Hammerfest and far beyond the Norwegian border. Videos of him still circulate the web to this day, and though no longer living, this beloved whale is still warming hearts.
Stop and smell the flowers phrazle at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens.