The arctic walrus which was first spotted off the coast of Kerry in March is back and this time it is visiting the Deise.
The wandering walrus was first spotted on rocks at Valentia Island, before other sightings in Wales, Cornwall, northern France and the Scilly Isles.
The map created by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IDWG) shows the known locations of confirmed sightings of this animal, suggesting a minimum distance travelled of around 2,000 km.
On Monday the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group received images of the walrus swimming near a boat off Clonea Strand in Co Waterford.
pic by Cormac Walsh
The red circle around the left flipper of the Clonea Walrus confirms it is the same animal off Valentia Island on March 14th.
Walrus, Clonea, Co. Waterford 02/08/2021 © Cormac Walsh
And yesterday the it seems to have spent much of the day hauled out on a moored RIB in Ardmore Bay near the Cliff House Hotel, thanks to observations by Charles Coughlan.
Walrus napping, Ardmore, Co. Waterford 03/08/2021 © Charles Coughlan
This morning (Wednesday) he seems to be on the move, having been spotted by Carlow Weather off the Waterford coast.
Where’s Wally? He was keeping me company on my run 😁 pic.twitter.com/cLwQABcQh7
— Carlow Weather (@CarlowWeather) August 4, 2021
The IWDG says it seems the animal's progression is westward and it may well be on the move and heading in the direction of Whiting Bay or Youghal.
The group is asking both members of the public watching it from land to give it at least 100 metres distance and boat owners not to approach it at all.
In a statement it says "There is no negotiating with an animal of this size if it decides it wants out of the water, as it will rest whereever it so chooses. Although these images have a comic quality to them, there is a serious side to this, as this animal is a long way from home and we’ve no way of knowing whether it is stressed, and how it may react to stressful situations. So we’d ask everyone who wants to see this rare Arctic visitor to respect its space."
