IIt may have been the walrus incongruity appearing on the Welsh coast. Or perhaps it was the discovery that the creature appeared to be on a kind of tour of the British and Irish islands while the human population remained confined, its own chances of an escape abroad diminishing by the day. Perhaps it was simply a feeling of connection: the lost and clumsy beast, a reflection of a nation at sea amid the waves of Covid.
Whatever the reason, the young Atlantic walrus sighted off the Pembrokeshire coast has become something of a celebrity, with some suggesting that she should be called “Wally”.
“It’s probably from the east coast of Greenland or from Svalbard, one of those stocks,” said Lucy Babey, head of science and conservation at the marine conservation charity Orca.
Babey said that while it remains unclear whether the walrus spotted in Wales is the same mammal that was spotted the week before on the rocks in County Kerry, Ireland, it is likely.
But the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group says it’s a combination. “The IWDG can confirm that it is the same animal due to the white marks on its left fin and the length of the prey,” they tweeted, adding that would mean that the walrus traveled 450 km (280 miles) in six days.
Why the walrus ended up so far south remains a mystery. While some suggest that the animal may have floated on ice, Babey said the animal could simply be looking for food or be disturbed, for example, by noise, and diverted from the course.
It is not the first walrus to appear unexpectedly – although sightings on the British and Irish islands are rare. “Since 1979, there have been eight confirmed walrus sightings in Ireland,” said Babey, adding that they also appeared in Scotland. “There was one in 2018 that was seen there on several islands, traveling for several months.”
But although the penguins found on Brazilian beaches were flown to colder waters, Babey said it would not be wise to attempt such a mission with a walrus, noting that the animal was huge and would have to be sedated because of the stress that such a procedure cause a cause. “What happened in the past was just keeping an eye on them and the animals just disappeared – so you expect them to keep swimming and find the right place,” she said.
Richard Sabin, the main mammalian curator at the Natural History Museum, said that walruses were not the only arctic animals found on a strange excursion: in 1949, two narwhals, creatures often called sea unicorns, were found on the Thames and Medway , while in 2018 a beluga whale appeared near Gravesend, Kent.
The beluga whale “is an arctic species that, like the walrus, has a very wide diet and, like the walrus, tends to go where its food is,” he said.
Chiara Giulia Bertulli, sighting officer for the Sea Watch Foundation, added that the beluga and white-headed whales are two Arctic species that appeared in the institution’s national sighting database, the last being reported in 2015 on the islands. from Scilly and again in 2016, this free time at Mount’s Bay in Cornwall and Carlingford Lough in Ireland.
Bowhead whales have already been reported off the coast of countries like France, Belgium and the Netherlands. “European sightings can represent the same lone individual,” said Bertulli.
Sabin said: “An increase in the size of the population due to the lack of commercial exploitation may be one of the reasons why we are seeing these animals appear outside their normal range”.
He added that occurrences of Arctic visitors should be monitored carefully, noting that they do not appear to be becoming more common per se, although sightings may now be reported more frequently because of the growth in formal sighting surveys. However, he said that they, too, should be enjoyed – albeit from a distance.
Babey agreed, noting that the young walrus seen in Wales was about the size of a cow.
“Do not approach the animal. Keep a really safe distance. They are very, very sensitive, ”she said. “This animal will be quite exhausted from swimming. You will probably be stressed because you are not in an environment that you are used to. “