22 BBC WILDLIFE December 2021
Lost & Found
C
hances 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 (someof which he capsized) soon landed him in
trouble. A local residents’ committee was
formed, and meetings held, but a purpose-
built 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?
James HanlonWalrus, Tenby
IN BRIEF
Surprise findings
in Japan
Scientists studying multiple
generations of wild boar and rat
snakes near the site of
the Fukushima nuclear
power plant disaster
found the animals
had not suffered
significant adverse
health effects.Wally offers a
regal wave to
the hoardsVAGRANT SPECIES DIARYKNOT:^ STEVEROUND;SNAKE:^SAM^YUE/ALAMYWALRUS:^ CARL^ CORBIDGE/ALAMY