Walrus Thor spotted on the coast of Iceland after a visit to the UK

A walrus that visited the south and east coasts of England in December has now been spotted on a floating pier in eastern Iceland.

A wandering walrus nicknamed Thor has arrived in eastern Iceland after a recent visit to the UK.

The hefty mammal visited the Netherlands and Dieppe in northern France last year before being spotted on the south coast of England around mid-December. It became a sensation because walruses are rare visitors to the UK. He later traveled north to Scarborough, a city on the east coast of England, where the locals canceled New Year’s Eve fireworks so as not to disturb him.

Thor arrived in the Icelandic fishing town of Breiddalsvik on February 24, where the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, RUV, turned his back on frozen fish offered by harbor guards.

As in the UK, it attracted the attention of locals who took pictures of it as they passed by. Walruses once lived in Iceland, but the local population died out centuries ago.

While Thor is “an amazing sight,” he should be left alone so he doesn’t waste energy unnecessarily, Rod Downey of the conservation organization WWF-UK told the BBC.

The walrus is thought to be a juvenile Atlantic walrus between 3 and 5 years old that roamed south from the Canadian Arctic. It is now thought to be returning north to colder waters, resting along the way. Adult male Atlantic walruses reach a length of up to 2.4 meters and a weight of up to 900 kilograms.

“After Thor’s visit to the UK, we wondered if we would ever see him again,” a spokesman for the conservation charity British Divers Marine Life Rescue told the BBC. “We are delighted to be informed that he is in Iceland.”

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, climate change and overhunting means walruses are endangered. A warming climate will cause Arctic sea ice to melt, where animals rest, breed and give birth.