An autopsy found no evidence “that Hvaldimir was shot,” police said Monday. According to the Veterinary Institute’s preliminary autopsy report, Hvaldimir probably died of starvation.
Examination of the food revealed only “very superficial” injuries. Only one injury was a little deeper, but “not life-threatening.” A stick 35 cm long and 3 cm wide was reportedly stuck in the dolphin’s jaws. His stomach was empty.
Hvaldimir, who was also known abroad as a suspected Russian spy, was found dead on August 31. in a bay on the southwest coast of Norway. Last Wednesday, animal rights groups Noah and One Whale said the dolphin had been shot. “There were multiple gunshot wounds throughout the body,” said One Whale manager Regina Crosby Haug. As a result, the organization approached the police.
The dolphin was first spotted in Norway in 2019. A GoPro camera was attached to his body on a belt labeled “St. Petersburg Equipment.” This has sparked rumors that the mammal could be a spy, something experts say has happened before.
The Norwegians have nicknamed the dolphin Hvaldimir: a play on words from the Norwegian word hval, meaning dolphin or whale, and the name of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a hint at his supposed connection to Russia.
Moscow has never responded to these accusations.
During the Cold War, both the Soviet Union and the United States used dolphins. Marine mammals have been trained to track submarines and mines and to identify suspicious objects or persons near ports and ships.
2024-09-10 07:43:28