The body of Hvaldimir – a combination of the Norwegian word for whale and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin – was spotted a week ago floating in the sea by a father and son fishing in southern Norway. Norway and Russia share a maritime border in the Arctic, leading to jokes that the whale was a Russian spy. Norwegian police had opened an investigation into the death of the animal after two animal rights groups filed a complaint. An autopsy showed a stick measuring 35 centimeters in length (14 inches) and 3 centimeters wide (1.2 inches) was stuck in the whale’s mouth, police for the South West district said in a statement. The animal rights groups had alleged the whale had been shot dead.

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Persons: –, Vladimir Putin –, Hvaldimir Organizations: Norway Reuters, South Locations: Oslo, Norway, Russia, Russian, South West