‘Russian spy whale’ was not shot dead, say Norwegian police

A beluga whale found in Arctic Norway is fed (Jorgen Ree Wiig, Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries via AP)

A beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation that it was a Russian spy, was not shot dead as claimed by animal rights groups but died of a bacterial infection, Norwegian police said.

A final post-mortem examination by Norway’s Veterinary Institute “concludes that the probable cause of death was bacterial infection – possibly as a result of a wound in the mouth from a stuck stick”, Amund Preede Revheim, head of the North Sea and environment section of the police in south-western Norway, said.