HELSINKI (AP) — A white beluga whale named “Hvaldimir,” first spotted in Norway not far from Russian waters with a harness that ignited rumors he may be a Moscow spy, has been found dead.
The Norwegian public broadcaster NRK reported that the whale carcass was found floating at the Risavika Bay in southern Norway Saturday by a father and son who were fishing.
The beluga, named by combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and Russian President Putin's first name Vladimir, was lifted out of the water with a crane and taken to a nearby harbor where experts will examine it.
“Unfortunately, we found Hvaldimir floating in the sea. He has passed away but it’s not immediately clear what the cause of death is,” marine biologist Sebastian Strand told NRK, adding that no major external injuries were visible on the animal.
Strand, who has monitored Hvaldimir's adventures for the past three years on behalf of the Norway-based Marine Mind non-profit organization, said he was deeply affected by the whale’s sudden death.
“It’s absolutely horrible,” Strand said. “He was apparently in good condition as of (Friday). So we just have to figure out what might have happened here.”
The 4.2-meter (14-foot) long and 1,225-kilogram (2,700-pound) whale was first spotted by fishermen near the northern island of Ingøya, not far from the Arctic city of Hammerfest, in April 2019 wearing a harness and what appeared to be a mount for a small camera and a buckle marked with text “Equipment St. Petersburg”.
That sparked allegations that the beluga was “a spy whale.” Experts said the Russian navy is known to have trained whales for military purposes.
Over the years, the beluga was seen in several Norwegian coastal towns and it quickly became clear that he was very tame and enjoyed playing with people, NRK said.
NGO Marine Mind said on its site that Hvaldimir was very interested in people and responded to hand signals.
“Based on these observations, it appeared as if Hvaldimir arrived in Norway by crossing over from Russian waters, where it is presumed he was held in captivity,” it said.
Norwegian media have speculated whether Hvaldimir could have been used as “a therapy whale” of some sort in Russia.
FILE - In this photo taken in April 2019 a beluga whale found in Arctic Norway swims next to a vessel. (Jorgen Ree Wiig, Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries via AP)
FILE - In this photo taken in April 2019 a beluga whale found in Arctic Norway is fed. (Jorgen Ree Wiig, Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries via AP)
DETROIT (AP) — One day after breaking up a no-hitter in the ninth inning, Gunnar Henderson homered and doubled to help the Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers 4-2 on Saturday.
Henderson drove in two runs and scored twice to help the Orioles move within two games of the AL East-leading Yankees. The All-Star shortstop tripled with two out in the ninth for Baltimore's only hit in a 1-0 loss to Detroit on Friday night.
The Tigers trailed 4-0 going into the ninth on Saturday, but Parker Meadows ended Detroit’s scoreless streak at 15 innings with a homer off Seranthony Domínguez. Colt Keith followed with a single, but Domínguez retired Kerry Carpenter and Riley Greene on deep flyballs.
Wenceel Pérez struck out, but reached first when the ball got away from James McCann. Spencer Torkelson made it 4-2 with an RBI single before Zach McKinstry grounded out to first.
The Tigers (76-73) had won five of six. They are trying to track down the Twins for the third AL wild card.
Corbin Burnes (14-8) pitched seven innings of two-hit ball for Baltimore. He struck out seven and walked one.
Beau Brieske tossed a scoreless first inning to become the first Tigers pitcher to start on back-to-back days since Hal Newhouser in 1946.
He retired the first four batters on Friday, but walked the first two hitters on Saturday before Anthony Santander grounded into a 3-6-1 double play. He then struck out Adley Rutschman to record an MLB-record fourth straight start without allowing a hit.
After walking to start the game, Henderson doubled off Ty Madden (1-1) in the third and scored on Cedric Mullins' base hit.
Baltimore added three runs in the seventh.
With one out, Kenta Maeda hit Emmanuel Rivera with a pitch. Rivera took third on Livan Soto's double and scored on McCann's sacrifice fly. Henderson followed with a 106.7-mph line drive into the service tunnel behind the right-field fence.
Henderson has 37 homers on the season. He has scored 113 runs, the most by an Oriole since Roberto Alomar's franchise-record 132 in 1996.
UP NEXT
The teams finish the series on Sunday afternoon in a game moved to 12:10 p.m. because of the Lions-Buccaneers game next door at Ford Field. Baltimore LHP Cade Povich (2-8, 5.91 ERA) will face RHP Keider Montero (5-6, 4.88 ERA).
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Sean Guenther throws against the Baltimore Orioles in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Detroit Tigers' Parker Meadows reacts after hitting a home run off Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Seranthony Domínguez in the ninth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Baltimore Orioles' Gunnar Henderson, middle, is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after scoring on an RBI single from Cedric Mullins in the third inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Baltimore Orioles' Gunnar Henderson, right, celebrates with Livan Soto after he hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
