IThis could be the irregularity of the walrus on the Welsh coast. Or perhaps it was the discovery that the creature appeared to be on a tour of the British and Irish islands while the human population remained in a refuge, and their own chances that a foreign holiday would shrink daily. Perhaps it was merely a sense of commitment: the lost, clumsy beast, a reflection of a nation at sea amidst the waves of Covid.
Be that as it may, the juvenile Atlantic walrus spotted off the Pembrokeshire coast has become famous, and some have suggested that it should be called “Wally”.
“It’s probably from the east coast of Greenland or from Svalbard, one of the supplies,” said Lucy Babey, the Orca’s head of science and conservation.
Babey said that while it was not yet certain whether the walrus spotted in Wales was the same mammal seen on rocks in County Kerry, Ireland, last week, it probably was.
But the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group say it agrees. “The IWDG can confirm that it is the same animal because of the white marks on the left pinball and the canine,” did they tweetThis would mean that the walrus had covered 450 km within six days.
The reason why the walrus ended up so south remains a mystery. While some suggested that the animal would float on ice, Babey said the animal could have simply searched for food, or could have been disturbed by noise and sent off course, for example.
This is not the first walrus to arrive unexpectedly – although rare sightings around the British and Irish Islands are rare. “Since 1979, eight walruses have been confirmed in Ireland,” Babey said, adding that they had also arrived in Scotland. “There was one in 2018 that was seen there on the different islands, that went around for a few months.”
But while penguins found on the beaches of Brazil were transported to cooler waters, Babey said it would be unwise to embark on such a mission with a walrus, noting that the animal is enormous and that it must be anesthetized due to the stress that such a procedure would cause. cause. ‘What has happened in the past is to just watch them and that the animals have just disappeared. That’s why you hope they continue to swim and find the right place, ‘she said.
Richard Sabin, the most important curator of mammals at the Natural History Museum, said that walruses were not the only Arctic animals found, but in 1949 two narwhals, creatures called unicorns from the sea, were found in the Thames. Medway, while a beluga whale arrives at Gravesend in Kent in 2018.
The beluga whale is an Arctic species that, like the walrus, has a fairly broad diet, and just like the walrus, it will tend to go where it is food, ‘he said.
Chiara Giulia Bertulli, an observer from the Sea Watch Foundation, added that beluga and bowhead whales are two Arctic species that have appeared in the charity’s national observation database, with the latter reported around the Isles of Scilly in 2015 and again in 2016. time off at Mount’s Bay in Cornwall and Carlingford Lough in Ireland.
Bowhead fish have since been reported off the coasts of countries including France, Belgium and the Netherlands. “The European observations can all be the same one-off person,” Bertulli said.
Sabin said: “An increase in population size due to the absence of commercial exploitation may be one of the reasons why we see these animals appear outside their normal appearance.”
He added that cases of Arctic visitors should be closely monitored, pointing out that they in themselves are no longer common, although sightings can now be reported more frequently due to the growth in formal sightings. He said they should enjoy it too – even if it was from afar.
Babey agrees, noting that the young walruses seen in Wales were about the size of a cow.
Do not approach the animal. Keep a very safe distance. “They are very, very sensitive,” she said. ‘This animal is going to be quite exhausted from all its swimming. It’s probably going to be stressful because it’s not in an environment it’s used to. ”