WICK welcomed a visitor with a difference yesterday as a walrus showed up on the Caithness town’s shore.
Locals flocked to see the Arctic animal, affectionately dubbed Wally, as he paid his latest visit to the Scottish seaside.
Wally was the first walrus to be sighted on the Scottish mainland since 1954 when spotted in Orkney at the start of March.
The walrus also been seen in Sutherland and the Isle of Harris and has since turned back along the north coast and headed down to Wick.
Wally in Wick!! #caithness Photos taken from the road with telephoto lens. Must be doing the @NorthCoast500 Here is hoping he finds his way home soon pic.twitter.com/JfNVk2vume
— Karen Munro (@kasmunro) May 24, 2018
One local told our sister title The Press & Journal that said she thought the understandably fatigued walrus was “a stone with seaweed on it” when she first glimpsed it late this afternoon at the town’s old lifeboat station.
She said: “At first it looked like a huge stone, then it moved its really huge flipper and I saw its really thick tusks.
“He wasn’t bothered by the crowd watching, everyone respected the walrus and stayed a good distance from it.”
?BREAKING NEWS – there’s a Walrus in Wick!! ? An actual Walrus. The full town’s out. What an amazing sight! #Wildlife #Sealife #Scotland #Caithness #Wick #Walrus pic.twitter.com/9oCVnbb7wL
— Zara Kitson (@ZaraKitson) May 24, 2018
Another local, Paul Tait, said a crowd of dozens had arrived to get a look at the impressive creature by 5.30pm.
Mr Tait added: “The walrus has quite clearly been here a while because it’s left a trail from the high tide mark to where the water is now.”
Welcome to Wick, Wally the Walrus! pic.twitter.com/4H0f5bYGOM
— Gail Ross MSP (@GailRossSNP) May 24, 2018
Tom Arnbom, a senior advisor to WWF on the Arctic and its marine life, said images of the animal appeared to show that it was healthy earlier this week.
He also noted that while it’s ‘really rare’ for a walrus to show up outside of the Arctic, it would be able to survive in Scottish waters if it can find a food supply
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