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Published 11:13 IST, July 26th 2022

Netizens can't get enough of Freya the Walrus that sinks boats & picks fights with swans

A large number of tourists who flocked to Norway to get a respite from the sizzling summer had a perfect time when several walrus started boarding small boats.

Reported by: Ajeet Kumar
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Freya
Image: @steinkobbe/Twitter | Image: self

A large number of tourists who flocked to Norway to get a respite from the sizzling summer had a perfect time when several walruses came and started boarding small boats. Though several tourists took to the microblogging site and narrated the incident as one of the most memorable moments of their life, some reported just the opposite and said their summer plans were majorly interrupted by the presence of Freya, a walrus. According to a report by Daily Mirror, the mammal was first spotted in the Norwegian town Kragero before moving to an area near Oslo.

Check videos of walrus boarding boats here:

And subsequently, several local residents reported to the concerned authority about the removal of heavy mammals as it created a lot of loss to their business. Some small ships reportedly sunk as the mammal that weighs nearly 700-800kg tried to board the ship instead of resting at the docking area. Meanwhile, two boat owners told the German broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, they wanted the mammal to go to their place and let human beings do their business as it has already damaged several small boats in the past few days. Besides, Norway's Directorate of Fisheries appealed to the tourists and locals to not disturb the mammal and urged them to keep away from Freya. It underscored several tourists came dangerously close to the beast in a bid to capture photos and videos.

Authorities plan to relocate Walrus

Meanwhile, some researchers from the University of South-Eastern Norway told the Norwegian News Agency NTB that the marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere is not familiarised with the crowds and added it can cause unnecessary stress to the mammal. "She doesn’t get any peace. She needs to relax for up to 20 hours. When she is constantly stressed out by people and their presence, it is not good for her," walrus expert Rune Aae said.  In order to provide relief to both the tourists and the animal, the authorities said either they would either relocate the mammal to other safe places or would cordoned off the area. Amid this chaos, netizens shared videos and photos with walrus where they narrated their memorable moments with the mammal. "She is the biggest news around here right now & has now reached Oslo. What a star," wrote a Twitter user.

Image: @steinkobbe/Twitter

Updated 11:13 IST, July 26th 2022