Walrus Freya has been delighting people around Oslo for days. But again and again onlookers disregard the rules of conduct of the fisheries authority. There they now want to check what should happen to the animal.
The attention for a walrus named Freya in Norway could be the animal’s undoing. The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries said on Thursday evening that careless behavior by onlookers and failure to follow official recommendations could endanger life and health.
“We are now considering other measures where killing can be a viable alternative,” warned the agency’s senior communications adviser, Nadia Jdaini. A patrol is on site in the Oslofjord to monitor the situation.
The female walrus, which weighs almost 600 kilograms and was named after the Nordic goddess of love and beauty, has been keeping the region around the Norwegian capital Oslo busy for weeks. Among other things, it repeatedly landed on boats at anchor, some of which capsized under its weight.
The animal has become a summer attraction for many people in the region. Crowds flock to the fjord to see the animal. The newspaper “Verdens Gang” has set up a live stream on its website to follow his every move. Between long naps – a walrus sleeps up to 20 hours a day – Freya was filmed chasing a duck and attacking a swan, among other things.
Freya has previously been spotted in the UK, Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden and is now enjoying the summer in Norway. First she climbed boats in Kragerö in southern Norway. Since mid-July she has been up to mischief in the Oslofjord, for example in the Frognerkilen marina. Usually, walruses live further north in arctic waters.
The fishery management is particularly bothered by the fact that people jumped into the water with Freya and also came very close to her with children on the bank to take photos. “We would like to once again – strongly – advise the public to keep their distance and not bathe with the walrus where the walrus has been observed,” said Jdaini. This is for your own safety as well as animal welfare. The biggest concern is that people could get hurt. Killing the animal is considered the last option.
