Lost & Found
Walrus, Tenby
Chances are, you will have heard of this year’s young celebrity walrus, with the national press covering its every move (and rather irritatingly naming it Wally – the same name likely given to every vagrant walrus in the UK). The iconic Arctic creature was first spotted in Ireland, before heading to Wales, enjoying a protracted stay of several weeks in Tenby, where it gave the local tourist economy a much-needed post-lockdown boost. But as the souvenir mugs and tea towels were flying off the shelves, the star left his favoured lifeboat slipway and headed to the French Atlantic coast via Cornwall.
He next turned up in northern Spain, before heading back north. Finding the Isles of Scilly to his liking, he was greeted with a similar reception to that in Wales, but his habit of hauling out onto small boats (some of which he capsized) soon landed him in trouble. A local residents’ committee was formed, and meetings held, but a purposebuilt pontoon fortunately resolved the issue.
But soon he returned to the Irish coast where a similar situation unfurled, the issues again resolved with a hastily made pontoon.
Next stop was Iceland but by now a second lost walrus, this time a female, had appeared in Germany. At the time of writing, she is still in the Netherlands but potentially heading towards the UK, albeit rather slowly.
Vagrant walruses in north-west Europe are nothing new, but multiples like this will only fuel the climate emergency debate. At least the Dutch press have managed to come up with a more original name than Mrs Wally (they’ve called her Freya), and may we at least suggest Russ for the next male?