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,

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,

In a mask and a hazmat suit, Ermek Murataliyev drives a truck filled with Soviet-era radioactive waste along the winding mountain roads of Kyrgyzstan."When the Soviet Union collapsed, Kyrgyzstan had neither the equipment nor the money to transfer the waste to safe sites," said Ilgiz Ernis, deputy mayor of the Min-Kush municipality.

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,

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.