WALLY’S BACK!
Walrus returns to seaside town after fears crowds got too close
TENBY’S famous walrus has been spotted again after fears he had been scared away. The town’s newest resident, known as Wally, was spotted on Friday evening by the town’s RNLI station.
Thought to be a two-year-old male, the walrus’s return comes after it was feared he had been disturbed by people flocking to catch a glimpse of him and “getting too close” to his usual haunt on the lifeboat station’s slipway.
The sight has attracted hundreds of people to the seaside town now that the travel restrictions with Wales have been lifted to coincide with the Easter school holidays. Wally went “missing” after Monday, when members of the public were warned it was in the animal’s “best interests to be left alone as much as possible”.
They were urged to “avoid the temptation to get near and disturb” him.
A joint statement issued by the RSPCA, Tenby harbour master Chris Salisbury, Welsh Marine Life Rescue, Tenby lifeboat coxswain Phil John, British Divers Marine Life Rescue, Natural Resources Wales and CSIP Marine Environmental Rescue also said they were “concerned” to hear that people had “tried to get close by using personal watercraft or paddle and surfboards”.
Despite the unwanted attention, however, it seems Wally is ready to brave the weekend again at the popular holiday location.
He was spotted on Friday by both Harri Owen and Cara Lanyon, who urged people to keep their distance from the creature.
The Arctic walrus is thought to be the same one seen off the coast of Kerry, in Ireland, last month before later being spotted on rocks near Broad Haven South beach in Pembrokeshire.
It seems he has been enjoying his stay, and has even been filmed trying to get on a fishing trawler in Tenby harbour, and also on board a dinghy.
While walruses normally inhabit coastal areas from Canada to Greenland, the RSPCA believes Wally is the most southerly sighting of the species, which has occasionally been seen in Scotland.
One theory is that the animal may have fallen asleep on an iceberg that was drifting south.
Users of drone cameras are also being discouraged from disturbing the walrus.