The walrus Freya was observed along the marina at Frognerstranda on Sunday. Experts predict that the highlight of the visit has still not been reached.
When Ea Rygh went for a walk with a friend along the water on Sunday, she spotted what she first thought was someone swimming there. It quickly turned out to be the walrus Freya. The walrus has attracted national attention after its leisurely moments in the coast’s marinas this summer.
– It swam quite fast inwards, appeared and was suddenly up somewhere else, says Rygh, who tells about terrified birds in the area.
– There was a bit of running back and forth to get it captured on film, says Rygh, who shared the view Instagram.
Freya stayed mostly under water, and could appear as if she had gotten a little tired of the public spotlight.
Predict a quick trip to the city center
Walrus expert Rune Aae, a research fellow at the University of Southeast Norway, closely follows Freya’s movements through observations that are reported. Since the observation at Frognerstranda, Aae has not heard more.
– She will eventually go to bed for the evening, and I guess she will be discovered in Frognerkilen tonight. Maybe she’s getting out on the west side of Bygdøy.
Aae tipped on Friday that she could find her way to the opera house.
– I guess she’s rooting for the city center. It quickly becomes Hovedøya, or towards the center and the opera house. It would have been spectacular if she found it, says Aae.
Boats are exposed
Walruses are actually herd animals, but Aae estimates that Freya got away from her mother at the age of two. That she constantly seeks out populated areas has little to do with loneliness, says the walrus expert.
– We have seen several times that she seeks out boats and ports, but perhaps not primarily people. It is a short way from there to shallow areas where there are lots of shells. And that is often where we lay port facilities, says Aae in the explanation of the coincidence of coincidences.
It is often on floating jetties or boats that Freya finds peace at night.
– On the boats there will be trouble, because they can not stand a walrus of 400 kilos. Many are destroyed, and especially the ribs are exposed.
Aae says that she uses the canines to get up in the boat.
– Then it is quick to puncture a rib, says Aae, who says that a rib recently sank in connection with a visit further south.
Warns against play
Besides material damage, Freya is far from an enemy of the people.
– The female walruses are only aggressive when they have to take care of their calf. Freya is a peaceful individual who must be allowed to be at peace.
The researcher is particularly concerned that no one should decide to swim with the walrus even if she is peaceful.
– She can play with us, and 400 kilos against 70-80 is a bad match. If she’s going to play a little, she can grab an arm, pull us underwater and think it’s fun. It can go really wrong. It is not that she is aggressive, but that she is so difficult, says Aae.
Freya rarely stays anywhere longer than two or three days, and Aae says that the trip now goes south again.
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