Wally the walrus has made Irish waters his home and the locals aren’t mad at him.
When you think of Ireland’s wildlife, a walrus may not be the first or even the last animal that comes to mind. But these days, there has been a new visitor making waves, literally, all along the coast of Ireland. The locals have affectionately dubbed him, Wally.
Wally has been a feature in European waters for the past few months after he drifted from his Arctic home in Greenland. People say he may have fallen asleep on an iceberg and floated South. Although it’s not what he is used to, Wally has been able to relax and chill quite happily in his new environment.
He came for the adventure and stayed for the fame.
After he made his way via the iceberg, Wally has been making friends all over the Irish coast. His latest appearance has been in the waters near Clonakilty Distillery in Cork. The employees at the distillery were shocked but delighted to see the big softy.
Captain Wally strikes again.
Employees from the distillery saw Wally climbing into one of their anchored boats recently and jumped at the chance to take some really great photos. The walrus seemed thrilled to be lounging on the boat resting his fins. This is Wally’s world and we are all just living in it.
Locals are loving Wally’s presence.
Adam Collins, a spokesperson for Clonakilty Distillery, was surprised to see a walrus commandeering one of their boats. The photos of the audacious walrus give us a little glimpse into his personality, which could be classified as brave, adventurous, tired, and very tired.
“It was definitely unexpected…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.” Collins told The Dodo.
As you can see, Wally is not a small fellow, in fact, he is quite massive. Even though he tends to tip the boat a smidge when he sprawls out for a suntan, he isn’t bothered.
“He seemed pretty relaxed, just chilling in the boat,” Collins told The Dodo
Walruses tend to climb onto ice or beaches to rest according to livescience.com. With no ice or beach near the distillery, the boats are the best option for Wally. They also allow visitors, locals, and tourists to get a better view of this amazing traveler.
Wally is welcome at The Clonakilty Distillery anytime.
Even though he took over their boat for the day, the owners were not upset. There was no damage reported from Wally’s visit and it was a sight they won’t forget anytime soon.
“Thankfully, there was no damage caused to the boat…We were quite happy just to leave him be and chill out!” – Collins told The Dodo
“It was an amazing experience just to see him.” – Collins told The Dodo
Check out the video that Clonakilty Distillery posted of Wally’s adventures on their Twitter page.
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
Now watch this video to see more of Wally’s Irish adventures.
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