Freya, a young female walrus, has been dominating the news in Norway for several days now. The mammal had been quiet in the Norwegian fjords for a week, but had already destroyed many boats because of its weight.
Freya has previously been spotted in the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. Now the walrus has chosen to spend part of the summer in Norway. She first heard about herself when she crawled out on pleasure boats to rest near the southern port city of Karajero. Since June 17, it has been doing the same near the capital, Oslo.
The presence of mammals, which usually live in the Arctic, occupied the front pages of Norwegian newspapers. The popular daily Verdens Gang even decided to broadcast all the walruses’ moves live on its website. For example, Freya has been depicted when in between naps—a walrus can sleep for up to 20 hours a day—chasing ducks or attacking a swan.
But Freya also causes a lot of damage. She is used to crawling on boats to rest, but many ships have already collapsed under the weight of the animal, weighing at least 600 kilograms.
“It’s a shame for the physical damage, but that’s what happens with wild animals in nature,” said Rolf Harald Jensen of the Norwegian Fisheries Directorate. The Norwegian government is not currently responding to proposals to move or kill Freya.
It is recommended to keep your distance and not go swimming or kayaking near the animal. It seems that “walruses usually pose no danger to humans, as long as you keep a safe distance.” “But if people bother him and he can’t rest enough, he can feel threatened and attacked.”
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