Hvaldimir the tame beluga whale was indeed a Russian spy whale, but it escaped because it was a "hooligan." Sadly Hvaldimir died earlier this year.

Headlines announcing the arrival of a possible Russian spy dolphin soon circulated around the world as the beluga (dubbed Hvaldimir by locals) continued its Norwegian residency. And while Hvaldimir sadly died in September,

Now, an expert in the species has spoken out about the mystery surrounding the whale, which was found dead in September. Dr Olga Shpak, who worked in Russia researching marine mammals from the 1990s before returning to her native country,

According to Dr Shpak, Andruha/Hvaldimir had first been captured in 2013 in the Sea of Okhotsk in Russia's Far East. A year later it was moved from a facility owned by a dolphinarium in St Petersburg to the military programme in the Russian Arctic, where his trainers and vets remained in contact.

Hvaldimir, the beluga whale found with a Russian harness in 2019, may have been trained as a guard whale rather than a spy, according to a new BBC documentary. Experts suggest he was taught to detect intruders,

The beluga dubbed the "spy whale," was wearing a harness with a small camera and a buckle marked with "Equipment St Petersburg."

Five years ago, a friendly white beluga whale approached fisherman in the waters off Norway, and quickly cemented his status as a figure of international intrigue. Hvaldimir, as the whale came to be known,

The Hvaldimir whale - which was spotted off the coast of Norway in 2019 - was originally thought to have been a Russian spy and the claims may have been right.

The peculiar tale of a beluga whale believed to have been a Russian "spy" appears to have been solved. A marine mammal expert suggests the animal was likely trained to guard a Russian naval base, only to escape due to a mischievous personality.