A BELUGA whale that went viral for supposedly being a Russian spy has been pictured looking alarmingly thin.
The creature was recently photographed by a marine biologist who shared her concerns on Twitter.
Hvaldimir the whale was recently spotted looking very thin[/caption]
This is how he looked in 2019, according to marine specialist Emma Luck[/caption]
According to Futurism, the whale is looking very skinny compared to previous appearances.
Marine specialist Emma Luck, who recently tweeted the concerning image, wrote: “Hvaldimir, who has returned to southern Norway, appears to be alarmingly thin.
“The first photo, taken by Henriette Marie Saga, is recent.
“The second photo is a from a screenshot of a video I took of him in 2019. You can see how much weight he has lost.”
The male whale is called Hvaldimir and was spotted by fishermen in Norway in 2019.
Hvaldmir was found wearing a harness that had a place for a camera to be attached.
The straps had the words “Equipment St Petersburg” written on them.
His harness was removed and the whale appeared friendly and used to human interaction.
Experts suspected he may have escaped from a training tank at a facility.
He got his name because hval means whale in Norweigan.
This word was combined with Vladamir so the whale was connected to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
When asked whether Norway was legally obliged to feed him, Luck replied: “Shortly after he appeared in 2019, the government allowed a monitored feeding/training program carried out by Norwegian Orca Survey as he was malnourished.
“But he left the area not too long after that and began feeding himself successfully.”
Experts have previously worried about whether Hvaldimir was eating enough fish.
He’s struggled to interact with other beluga whales and is thought to be lonely.
A sign at Hammerfest Harbour in Norway informs tourists to keep their distance from the whale and not feed him themselves.
