Tame Russian whale not shot, police says after autopsy report

The famous Beluga whale was found dead in the waters outside Stavanger on August 31. Nicknamed Hvaldimir (Whaledimir) by the Norwegians because of his Russian origin, the death of the Beluga made world-wide headlines. So also when the animal rights’ group OneWhale last week claimed a bullet hole was found, a strong indications that the whale had been shot.

The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries requested the Veterinary Institute to conduct an autopsy of the whale.

“We have now received a preliminary investigative report from the Veterinary Institute,” tells Amund Preede Revheim, head of the North Sea environmental section with the investigative unit of the police in Stavanger.

The police says in a press-statement that the visible wounds on the skin of the whale shown on photos to media are “completely superficial.”

These injuries have not affected vital organs or are of a fatal nature, the police says and adds that the autopsy report does not conclude what caused those injuries.

“An X-ray was taken of the front part of the more than four-metre-long whale, where the wounds are. Here, nothing has been found to indicate that these injuries stem from gunshots. No projectile has been found either,” says Preede Revheim.

He tells that the autopsy showed that the stomach of the whale was empty. “In addition, most organs had broken down. There is nothing in the investigations that have been carried out to establish that it is human activity that has directly led to Hvaldimir’s death,” adds Preede Revheim.

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