A walrus by the name of Wally has been traveling across European seas for some months now, far from his Arctic home. He is believed to have slept off on an iceberg early this year in Greenland, which subsequently drifted south.
Wally may not be used to this kind of terrain, but he’s still enjoying his impromptu excursion.
Earlier this week, employees from Clonakilty Distillery in Ireland spotted the wayward walrus. He’d evidently decided to rest his fins a while by commandeering one of their vessels anchored offshore.
And it didn’t take long for Wally to make himself feel at home.
The boat’s owners were shocked.
“It was definitely unexpected,” Adam Collins, spokesperson for Clonakilty Distillery, told The Dodo. “Wally’s been spotted in Irish waters before, but we never thought in a million years we’d see him here, especially in one of our team’s boat.”
Wally was evidently in need of a rest — and he’d found just the place to get it.
“He seemed pretty relaxed, just chilling in the boat,” Collins said.
Wally’s enormous bulk caused the boat to list somewhat, but he didn’t seem to mind. That abandoned ship was now all his, and its real owners couldn’t have cared less.
Collins remarked, “Thankfully, there was no damage to the boat. We were content to just let him be and relax.
One of our team had an unexpected Artic visitor on their boat this evening. #Wallythewalrus spotted in Clonakilty today…. we reckon he must have stopped by on his travels for a refreshing Minke G&T. 😅🍸#clonakilty #wildatlanticway #purecork pic.twitter.com/zGH8vGqotB
— ClonakiltyDistillery (@clondistillery) August 9, 2021
Wally used the opportunity to catch a few Zs.
According to Collins, Wally was still lazing aboard the boat as evening arrived and its owners headed back to dry land. They’d had to forfeit their use of their vessel that day on account of the hijacking walrus — but there’s no hard feelings whatsoever.
“It was an amazing experience just to see him,” Collins said.
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