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Wally the Walrus, also known as Wally the Wandering Walrus, is a male Arctic Walrus who attracted much media attention for appearing in several locations across the coast of western Europe, mainly the British Isles, during 2021. He is estimated to weigh around 800 kilograms.[1]
 Wally sleeping on the lifeboat station slipway at Tenby | |
| Other name(s) | Wally the Wandering Walrus |
|---|---|
| Species | Walrus |
| Sex | Male |
| Weight | 800 kg (1,764 lb; 126 st 0 lb) |
Biography
Wally is thought to of first appeared in March 2021, off the coast of County Kerry, Ireland.[2] Days later, he was spotted in Wales near Broad Haven South beach, Pembrokeshire.[3] Wally was then seen basking on the RNLI lifeboat slipway in Tenby.[4] While in Tenby, Wally would regularly sunbathe on the lifeboat slipway, causing problems when the lifeboat needed to be deployed, with the local lifeboat crew using several methods to deter him off, on one occasion, using an airhorn.[5] Wally also sunk a dinghy and attempted to board a fishing boat in Tenby harbour.[6] Following these sightings in Wales, Wally left Tenby after nearly 3 months and was spotted off the coast near Padstow in Cornwall.[7]
In May 2021, Wally the Walrus was seen in Les Sables d'Olonne in western France, where local wildlife experts feared he had been hit by a boat.[8] After a sighting in Bilbao, Spain, Wally was seen two weeks later near the Isles of Scilly, trying to mount boats near Porthcressa Beach, south of Hugh Town.[9] Wally was also pictured off St Martins, sleeping on a local fishing boat.[10] While in the Isles of Scilly, Wally the Walrus sunk and damaged several boats, leading to local groups, including the British Divers Marine Life Rescue, Devon and Cornwall Police, RNLI, and St Mary’s harbour authority, to come up with a plan to humanely remove or deter Wally from the harbour.[11] Wally was also given a purpose-built pontoon in St Mary’s harbour to bask on and to act as a safe space. He left the Isles of Scilly after nearly three months in early August.[12]
After leaving the Isles of Scilly, Wally the Walrus swam to Crookhaven Harbour in County Cork, where another pontoon was floated for him to use to stop him from damaging local boats.[13] Three weeks after leaving Ireland, in September 2021, Wally was spotted in Iceland.[1]
Response
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References
- ^ a b "Wally the wandering walrus is spotted in Iceland". BBC News. 2021-09-20. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ^ "Arctic walrus off Ireland's coast proves a rare sighting". BBC News. 2021-03-15. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ^ "Walrus spotted in Wales, days after one seen off Ireland". BBC News. 2021-03-20. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ^ "Pembrokeshire walrus seen 'basking in sun' in Tenby". BBC News. 2021-03-27. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ^ "Wally the walrus: Lifeboat crew use horn to budge animal". BBC News. 2021-04-30. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ^ "Wally the Walrus 'flipped dinghy and tried to board fishing boat'". BBC News. 2021-03-30. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ^ "Wally the walrus: Arctic animal spotted for first time in Cornwall". BBC News. 2021-05-20. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ^ "Wally the walrus 'hit by boat' after leaving Wales for France". BBC News. 2021-05-28. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ^ "Isles of Scilly: Wally the walrus spotted off beach". BBC News. 2021-06-18. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ^ "Wally the Walrus takes a nap on Isles of Scilly fishing boat". BBC News. 2021-06-22. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ^ "Isles of Scilly: Walrus Wally no longer welcome". BBC News. 2021-07-02. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ^ "Isles of Scilly walrus spotted off Republic of Ireland". BBC News. 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ^ "Wally the walrus to get his own pontoon". BBC News. 2021-08-20. Retrieved 2022-04-17.