Adorable Walrus Starts Exhibiting A Strange Behavior That Upsets Local Residents

From Wally’s looks alone, you wouldn’t think that he presented any problems. He’s a big ball of fun who simply seems to prefer spending time near human civilization rather than in his own. But while Wally may be something of a global celebrity, his mischievous habits aren’t impressing those who live in the European towns he likes to visit. And that’s what incited authorities to act. 

Yes, the rest of the world may be wowing at Wally, but what they don’t realize is how much trouble he’s inadvertently causing. Some people are so irate, in fact, that they even brought up the idea of “deporting” him from EU waters! Poor Wally is really rubbing them up the wrong way. 

But what could an adorable creature such as Wally possibly have done to get people so annoyed? Well, ever since he turned up along unfamiliar shores, he’s been exhibiting some strange behavior. And it’s not his fault. He just doesn’t know how to conduct himself in his new home. He’s doing his best, dammit! 

When Wally first appeared around the shores of County Kerry, Ireland, it stunned the public and wildlife experts alike. “This is the first confirmed sighting of a walrus. It's a one-off as far as I'm concerned,” Kevin Flannery, a marine biologist at Dingle Oceanworld Aquarium, told the Irish Examiner in 2021. So, where did he come from?

If you thought walruses usually live in the Arctic, you’d be correct. But rather strangely, Wally seems to prefer warmer waters. And experts don’t really know why this is or what caused him to make the journey away from home in the first place. They do have their theories, though.

The first possibility is that Wally, who’s approximately four years old, hitched a ride. And no, he didn’t catch the Polar Express. Instead, Flannery suggested that the wandering walrus dozed off on an iceberg and only came to once he was miles out of his comfort zone. But the World Wildlife Fund isn’t entirely convinced this is the case...

One of the WWF’s senior advisors, Tom Arnbom, shared his thoughts with BBC News in 2021. “Often it is adolescent animals that venture on long trips,” he revealed. And the expert believes that in this case, Wally was actually looking for something to eat. Makes sense, but why did he venture so close to land?

“Sooner or later [walruses] have to come to the shallows, i.e. less than 100 to 200 meters depth, to feed on mussels or clams,” Arnbom continued. “They eat up to several thousand clams a day.” So you could say Wally is being shellfish not having to share his bounty with other members of his walrus clan! Arnbom added that the big creature will probably travel around a bit before heading back where he came from. 

And that certainly seems to be the case so far. One of the earliest Wally sightings was on County Kerry’s Valentia Island by a father and daughter – Alan and Muireann Houlihan, respectively. “The size of the thing was astronomical,” Alan told local media. “It was the size of a big bull.” 

The pair were so enamored with Wally that they watched him for quite some time. “He disappeared into the sea for a while, and he then came back and put himself on a rock for a good couple of hours. It was fantastic,” said Alan. But as Arnbom indicated may be the case, Wally eventually got restless. 

Next, Wally supposedly made his way to Broad Haven South beach in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The walrus witnesses contacted Welsh Marine Life Rescue, who sent Cleopatra Browne to investigate. She told BBC News that the reports were accurate and it was, indeed, a walrus who in Browne’s own words, “sat there, chilling.” That’s Arctic animals for you — they’re cool. 

Browne went on to describe Wally. “It was about the size of a cow,” she said. “It was a whopper. I've seen them on telly and the news, but it was huge. You go around the coast path and go, ‘Woah.’ It’s not what you expect — it would be like seeing a penguin in your lounge." Pretty bizarre then!

Ellie West of the RSPCA — the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals — gave Wally a checkup during his stay. Funnily enough, she pronounced him a little thinner than expected but explained that “thankfully, he wasn’t displaying any signs of sickness or injury.” Though he was close to accidentally causing one on his next stop!

Wally resurfaced — literally — in Tenby, Wales, where he apparently spent several days eating. This basically put the walrus into a contented food coma. And, unfortunately, the place he chose to sleep it off was inconvenient at best. Wally had settled down, you see, on a lifeboat slipway, obstructing access for emergency vehicles. 

Poor Wally didn’t know he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, so he got a rather rude awakening. Yep, a crew volunteer went out to try and move the walrus, but as you can imagine, this turned out to be quite a tricky task. The brave man used a sweeping brush for his first attempt — but to no avail.

And according to Martyn Sidwell, a tourist who observed the event, Wally wasn’t impressed. “The walrus looked at him as if to say, ‘You’re having a laugh,’” Sidwell reported. So the crewman upped his game and came back with an air horn. This proved more effective, and the dejected Wally went to find somewhere else to crash. 

After Wally outstayed his welcome in Wales, he swam to Padstow in Cornwall, England, where he got a better reception. He even entertained a group of tourists on a sea safari who had the pleasure of an unexpected walrus sighting. To the passengers’ amazement, Wally accompanied their boat for a little while. 

A wildlife photographer for Padstow Sealife Safaris called Nathaniel Barry documented the first time he had spotted Wally. He wrote on Facebook, “This afternoon, our passengers and crew were absolutely astounded to spot what they first thought was a very large seal, only for it to pop up and reveal a pair of tusks.” 

Wally has since been spotted in French and Spanish waters as he travels around Europe. And it’s been good PR for him, too, because his appearances have made him a very popular walrus. Groups of fans usually turn up to see his arrival at a new destination. But that’s not all. 

Shops in these coastal towns have started selling walrus-themed merchandise to celebrate their guest. Ever wanted a cushion, T-shirt, or mug emblazoned with a walrus to commemorate your Wally encounter? Now you can! And his antics in Wales have even been immortalized in a children’s book by Sharron Taylor called Wally the Walrus. 

Plus, Tenby was so charmed by Wally that a local brewery — Tenby's Harbwr — honored the walrus with a beer called Tamar's Tusk. For those of you who don't know, a Tamar is a type of lifeboat, meaning the name pokes fun at his slipway snooze. But while the wandering walrus has many admirers, it hasn’t all been fun sightings and memorabilia. 

Wally’s behavior, which would be fine in his own arctic environment, simply isn’t suited for European waters. And it’s even putting some people out of pocket! In July 2021 John Hourston of The Blue Planet Society told Metro, “We are getting quite a few people asking us why Wally can’t be taken home.”

“He is causing a fair amount of mayhem, and the novelty of having him around might be wearing thin,” Hourston said. As a result, there was talk about deporting Wally and taking him back to the arctic. But the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, or DEFRA, says that may not be an option. 

In 2021 DEFRA told The Sun, “Moving marine mammals has the potential to cause a large amount of stress to the animal, and it is not guaranteed that they won’t swim back to the original location.” Not music to locals’ ears, we imagine! But just what is it that’s causing them to become so irate with Wally’s antics? 

Remember how we mentioned that Wally may have hitched a ride to Europe on an iceberg? Well, when you look at typical walrus behavior, you’ll see that this could have been entirely possible. It is, in fact, normal for walruses to pull themselves out of the water and rest on ice floes. Not only does it give the animals a break from swimming, but it also plays a major part in their hunting and feeding routines. 

As the Smithsonian Museum has explained, “Walruses use sea ice as platforms on which to nurse their young and launch their dives for clams and other bottom-dwellers.” But if there aren’t any lumps of ice around, as is the case in warmer waters, they have to find an alternative. Wally chose boats — much to the amusement of some tourists.

For a lot of people, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience to have a walrus haul itself up on deck while you’re enjoying a nice boat trip. Take sailor Rafe Ward, for instance, who owns a yacht called the Calypso. He and the tourists that he took out to sea went out of their way to try and spot Wally in the Isles of Scilly, England. 

“I wasn’t sure if we’d see [Wally], but we spotted him straight away,” Ward told Wales Online in 2021. “I tried to keep a distance, but he clearly took a liking to the boat — and it’s a nice boat, so I don’t blame him. It was great seeing him in the flesh because he’s been spotted all over recently.”

Ward continued, “He just wanted to say 'hello.' Everyone on board loved it. One man said it was more exciting than a diving trip at the Great Barrier Reef.” But owners of little boats see the more serious side to Wally’s antics. Apparently, a 2,000-pound walrus can cause a lot of damage. 

Some vessels simply can’t support Wally’s massive frame — and they have reportedly sunk as a result. Others are left unusable for days at a time after the walrus has docked on them. And not only are sailors having to fork out lots of money to repair their vehicles, but they're also having their livelihoods impacted.

“That walrus needs to go. I don’t think visitors realize that the islanders spend a lot of money on their boats, some up to tens of thousands of pounds,” an upset boat owner called Isaac Scoble wrote online. And the anger at Wally didn’t stop there.

Joy Hughes was another person advocating action against Wally. She wrote, “He’s lovely, but sorry, Wally, you’re becoming a menace and dangerous, too. This will not end well if he stays much longer.” But does this loveable walrus really present a danger? It’s possible, yes. Although Wally is seemingly yet to cause any injuries, he is very capable of doing so — even if it is accidental. 

Once, for instance, Wally accidentally flipped a dinghy in Tenby while trying to climb aboard. The vessel was thankfully empty, so no one was harmed. Still, British Divers Marine Life Rescue, or BDMLR, are collaborating with conservation groups and authorities to try and resolve the Wally issue in the interests of all parties. 

BDMLR issued a statement saying, “Unfortunately, [Wally’s] presence in a commercial harbor within an island community is posing huge risks. First to himself, and to livelihoods, but [also] potentially human safety. He may prevent emergency response vessels from being immediately operational or cause serious injury or worse if he capsizes a boat with people on board.”

For now, though, it looks as though Wally isn’t going anywhere. So County Cork, Ireland, has come up with another solution. Instead of attempting to get rid of the walrus, it’s trying to be more accommodating to him. That’s right: when Wally used a motorboat owned by West Cork’s Clonakilty Distillery, the company decided to do him a favor. 

Under normal circumstances, the motorboat would be out harvesting ingredients for their gin. But it’s currently acting as a temporary rest platform for Wally. The distillery has “agreed to allow Wally to use the boat for as long as needs be and not move it until a more permanent solution can be found,” spokesperson Adam Collins explained.

In the meantime, authorities are asking for other people to lend Wally a place to chill out. Seal Rescue Ireland is actively looking for another vehicle or platform that the walrus can use for a sofa — a place where he can be observed from afar and where he’s not accidentally breaking people’s boats.

While there’s no question that Wally is an adorable and apparently friendly walrus, Seal Rescue Ireland has issued a warning to people to treat him like any other wild animal. The organization’s executive director, Melanie Croce, announced via BBC News, “Just please, please respect him from a distance.” And to try and clarify how people should treat Wally, a politician for the U.K.’s Green Party made an interesting comparison...

Malcolm Noonan said, “It’s basically the same as a fox or rabbit under the law, so it’s up to people to cop on and have consideration for this poor wild animal, which is a long way from home. Leave it alone, and if you must go and see it, use binoculars.”

At least Wally is native to the sea — the same can't be said for other animals who find themselves far from home on the water. Mallory Harrigan and Cliff and Alan Russell knew that they had to get closer than their binoculars to one particular creature when they found it in the coastal waters of Labrador, Canada.

Harrigan and the Russells were sailing around a nearby iceberg when they faced something entirely unexpected. A creature of some sort appeared to be struggling on the iceberg. It looked cold and lonely, and voracious seagulls were dive-bombing the poor creature.

Moved by the creature's plight, Harrigan and the two Russells felt they had no choice but to intervene. This was unfortunate because, until this moment, things had been pretty plain sailing for the trio.

True, the group was running a little behind schedule, but nothing untoward had occurred. As Harrigan recalled to People magazine a month later, “We were off to a late start. But there had been an unusual amount of ice that prevented us from getting out.”

For all intents and purposes, then, the day had developed like any other. The trio sailed their vessel — a boat called The Northern Swan — toward the settlement of Pinsent’s Arm. There, they planned to stop for fuel. But as the crew made their way to the town, their ordinary day turned into an extraordinary one.

About four miles out from the coastline, the crew caught sight of a conspicuous iceberg. The thing looked like a mushroom — but that wasn’t all that grabbed the trio’s attention. Some sort of animal appeared to be stuck on top of it...and it looked like it needed help.

This iceberg was floating out to sea, with the animal stuck on top in some distress. At first, the three-person crew thought that the creature must have been a seal. But if that was the case, then why hadn’t it dived into the water and swam to safety?

Probably because this animal wasn’t a seal — nor, for that matter, was it any kind of marine creature. And without being a natural swimmer, the vulnerable critter was stuck on that iceberg with no chance of rescue. That is if the crew of The Northern Swan didn’t get to work — fast.

Thankfully, Harrigan, partner Cliff, and his son, Alan, were all up to the task. The trio, it seems, couldn’t sail past the trapped animal without putting their own agenda on hold and coming to its aid. But their rescue mission wasn’t going to be a walk in the park.

Icebergs, after all, can prove to be very dangerous things. Anyone remember the Titanic? Yep, the frozen structures are sometimes unstable. So bits of ice are liable to break off and crash into the waters around them. This means that people should avoid getting too close in case they’re struck on the head by falling debris.

The coastal waters of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador contain plenty of icebergs floating around. But only a small fraction of these actually come from the Canadian Arctic region itself. It’s said to only be about a tenth, in fact, with the rest calving off from the glaciers of Greenland.

But regardless of the icebergs’ origins, Newfoundland and Labrador end up with a lot of them. And there are so many in the region that the people living there make use of them in interesting ways. The water from the icebergs can be drunk, for instance. It’s used in the production of alcoholic beverages such as beer, gin and vodka.

And back in April 2017 an iceberg off Newfoundland and Labrador made significant waves. The structure was enormous. People could even see it from the shore of a small settlement called Ferryland. The town mayor spoke to news agency The Canadian Press about the thing, too. He said, “It’s the biggest one I[’ve] ever seen around here.”

The 150-foot-tall iceberg became a sensation, with people in the region descending upon Ferryland to catch a glimpse of it. Tourists uploaded pictures of the berg online, generating remarkable interest. Eyes from all over the world were now focused on the tiny Canadian town.

So 2017 was a big year for icebergs drifting into the northern reaches of the Atlantic Ocean. Experts even recorded more than usual that year and offered two reasons to account for the spike. One: winds of unusual intensity and direction may have encouraged the bergs into the area. But the more troubling suggestion was that global warming had led to the behemoths breaking off from Greenland’s glaciers.

Regardless of the reasons for their appearances, icebergs can be mesmerizing to behold. After all, the structures can feature dashes of color, tunnels, and pieces of rock frozen into place. Creatures have even been known to get trapped and preserved within the floating chunks of ice.

Yes, you can never be sure of what you’re about to encounter when you’re faced with an iceberg. But the crew of The Northern Swan were still in for a shock when they got closer to the animal trapped on the iceberg before them. As they edged closer, it became clear that the identity of the stricken animal wasn’t what they had initially thought.

Speaking to The Dodo a few days after the dramatic incident, Harrigan recalled their feelings. She said, “We thought it was a baby seal.” Yet they dispelled that theory as they edged a little nearer. So, if it wasn’t a seal, then what had the crew happened upon?

Much to the surprise of the three sailors on board The Northern Swan, the creature wasn’t a marine animal. For that matter, it wasn’t any species that you’d expect to find this far out to sea. As Harrigan later recalled to People, “It was a small Arctic fox.”

Arctic foxes tend to live inside of burrows. So that begs the question: how or why had one managed to become marooned on a wayward iceberg in the middle of an icy sea? Well, as Harrigan related to Bored Panda, Cliff had his own thoughts on the matter.

Harrigan said, “It had probably got stuck out there looking for a meal. Cliff says he thinks he got out there to check out a bit of meat on the ice and it broke apart, sending the cute fox out to sea.” All things considered, this theory seems pretty plausible.

Arctic foxes are generally tough creatures, well adapted to the harsh conditions of the Arctic region. Their little ears, furry feet and small snouts all help them to survive in extreme, sub-zero temperatures. But even so, this particular fox looked to be in big trouble when the crew of The Northern Swan found it.

The fox was emaciated and cold, apparently close to losing its life. Harrigan and the Russells were touched by the beast’s plight, but they were also a little reluctant to help. On top of the dangers of approaching an iceberg was the consideration that the fox was a wild animal. They couldn’t know how it might react to their presence.

Undeterred, though, the crew opted to act in the hope of saving the fox’s life. So they sailed their boat towards the berg and then attempted to lure the animal onto the vessel. But the creature was reluctant to ditch the berg in favor of the boat, as Harrigan later recalled to Bored Panda.

Harrigan explained, “[The fox] was trying to run away from us at first, so we had a tough time getting him aboard.” The creature must have been so confused at what was happening to him. And it must have been very worrisome for the crew, in case he reacted violently.

But the crew put aside their concerns to get the job done. If they left the animal, after all, it would likely perish. As Harrigan put it to The Dodo, “We knew we were his only chance for survival, as the winds had changed and were driving all the ice farther out to sea.”

But the animal still put up a determined fight. In fact, the crew had to think on their feet to gain control of the situation. Speaking to People, Harrigan explained what they did. She said, “We had to break off the piece of ice he was on so we could get him in the water and scoop him up with the dip net.”

Once he was in the icy water, the fox struggled and struggled until he lost all his energy. It was only then that the crew were able to pull him aboard. From there, they set up a temporary bed to allow the stricken creature to rest and regain its strength.

Speaking to People, Harrigan recalled, “[The fox] crawled into a corner and curled into a ball. We tried to feed him chips and crackers, whatever we had on hand, but he wouldn’t eat for a long time.” This was a concern, of course, as the animal was in dire need of nourishment.

The crew members worried that their rescue efforts may have been in vain, too. The fox’s life appeared to be on a knife-edge, with his survival far from assured. But the creature eventually took to his new sawdust bed, where he could rest and warm-up.

Harrigan explained to People that the fox had slipped off to sleep almost as soon as he curled up in his bed. And he didn’t rouse himself from his slumbers for quite a few hours after that. If anything, that’s a testament to the awful stresses that he must have endured on the iceberg.

Eventually, though, the fox woke up. And at this point, he finally took some food, as Harrigan explained to Bored Panda. She said, “He wouldn’t eat at all for the first five or six hours. We gave him chips and crackers, but he didn’t want anything until he woke up, and we fed him a tin of Vienna sausages.”

Now that the crew had demonstrated to the fox that they were trying to help him, he seemed to relax a bit. He’d finally gotten some food and sleep, after what we can only presume was a long, long time. And once the ship reached land, the fox was set free.

There’s no way to be sure of exactly how long the fox had been stuck on the iceberg, but his appearance did provide one clue. As Harrigan explained to People, “A friend of ours later told us that an Arctic fox should have brown fur this time of year. The fact that his coat was still mostly white was an indicator of how long he had been out there, which may have been weeks.”

You see, Arctic foxes have evolved to sport white fur during the winter. It’s a useful feature, too, because it helps them to blend in with their icy surroundings. But when summer comes around, the fur turns from white to brown or gray. This helps them to stay camouflaged after the ice has melted.

These adaptations help the Arctic fox to hunt down its prey, which in the summertime might include birds, rodents and fish. But when winter strikes, sources of food can be hard to come by. The fox might then resort to tracking polar bears in the hope of picking up some of their leftovers.

It was likely a hunt for food that led to Harrigan’s Arctic fox getting stuck on that iceberg. The animal was probably trying to survive — but got himself caught up in a tricky situation instead. Luckily, some Good Samaritans happened to be sailing by in the nick of time.

If the crew hadn’t happened to pass by, the fox probably would’ve ended up far out at sea with no hope of ever making it back to land alive. As Harrigan explained, “The winds had also changed southwest. So, if we hadn’t found him when we did, he would’ve only drifted farther out to sea.”

But luck — and a helpful group of people — intervened, and the fox survived his ordeal. And once the fox had eaten, his carers released him to live his own life once again. Harrigan told The Dodo, “We dropped him off in an old doghouse. He shook himself off and that was it!”

After all this, people could still see the fox roaming around the area where he’d been set free. In fact, Harrigan never had to say goodbye to the creature, as she explained to People. She said, “We can still see him from time to time, running around the island chasing small animals.”

In the wake of his grueling ordeal, the Arctic fox has become something of a celebrity. That’s to say, the story of his rescue has been reported all across the world. And that’s despite the relative lack of internet in the area in which he now roams.

In any case, Harrigan was delighted for the little Arctic fox that she helped to save from that deadly iceberg. As she told People, “We knew our little friend would be the talk of our small community, but never expected him to make waves around the world! We’re pretty excited.”