Walrus Who Disrupted New Year at Scarborough May Have Swum to Northumberland

It is very rare for walruses to come ashore in Britain. In the last two years, only two such cases have been recorded. And now residents of Yorkshire towns have the chance to see this wonderful animal for themselves.

A wandering walrus, thought to be the one which delighted thousands of people in Scarborough on New Year's Eve, has continued its English "tour" and appeared 161 km further up the coast. While the walrus was resting on a wooden pontoon at a yacht club in Blyth, Northumberland, it attracted crowds of spectators.

A British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) expert believes the pinniped needed "time to rest and recuperate before it continues its journey."

A walrus called Thor is the first walrus to have evidence of being in Yorkshire: various photographs and video footage. Moreover, given that there have been no previous reports of walruses, Thor may be the first walrus in history to have visited Yorkshire.

Scarborough Council even cancelled New Year's Eve fireworks so nothing could harm the animal.

Since Thor is the first walrus ever recorded in Yorkshire, he caught the attention of many. According to the BDMLR report a maximum of 500 people visited the walrus at one time. The total number of visitors is in the thousands. Although the vast majority of people behaved decently, police had to deal with "a small handful of difficult members of public, and one person breaking cordon and entering private property attempting to access the walrus for photographs."