For the second time in just a couple of months, a large, loveable walrus has washed up on the coast of Scotland.
The Arctic mammal was discovered on Monday by creel fisherman Lorn MacRae, who found it sunbathing on the rocks at the Treshnish Isles, to the west of the Isle of Mull. The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, which has been monitoring wildlife off Scotland’s west coast for more than 25 years, was alerted to the sighting and described the walrus as ‘massive’.
Monday’s sighting was the first record of a walrus on the trust’s database, with experts calling it an ‘unusual’ event. It’s clearly a pretty big deal, but people have been advised to keep their distance and avoid disturbing the animal.
The new arrival follows sightings of a walrus called Thor in December and January off the coast of England and Scotland. He is now understood to have been spotted in Iceland just last week.