600kg and more than a thousand kilometres: Freya walruses now making headlines in Norway

Beware of Morse code! Already observed in the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, a 600kg female elephant named Freya chose to spend part of the summer in Norway, where she first gained notoriety for first hoisting on pleasure boats in Kragiro, an idyllic southern coastal village, before doing the same In the waters of the capital since July 17. The presence of mammals that naturally inhabit the northern latitudes of the Arctic aroused the curiosity of the local population and made headlines.

broadcast live

In this country that adores “slow TV”, the Verdens Gang newspaper decided for a moment to broadcast live on its website its simplest actions and gestures. Between two large walruses – a walrus can sleep for up to 20 hours a day – Freya has been photographed hunting a duck, handling a swan, or more often falling asleep Boats sway under their own weight.

An official from the Directorate of Fisheries, Rolf Harald Jensen, explained to TV2 that “physical damage is unfortunate, but that’s what happens when you have wild animals in the wild” under the weight of the animal.

“Down Freya”

After considering relocating Freya for some time, or even euthanizing her if she would pose a danger to the population, the Norwegian authorities decided to let nature take its course.

“She is in good health, is eating and resting and appears to be doing well,” the Directorate of Fisheries said in a statement on Monday.

Freya, whose name refers to a goddess associated with love and beauty in Norse mythology, is not unanimous. “Cut down Freya,” biologist Per Espen Fjeld launched in a column published by public radio and television NRK on Monday. Freya costs (to Norwegian society, editor’s note) more than most of the other animals we slaughter because it does more harm, but Freya has made a name for herself, he noted, lamenting the “pure Bambi effect.”

The authorities, for their part, are demanding the need to keep away from the person and strongly advise against going swimming or kayaking near Freya “which is not necessarily as lazy and disorienting as one might think when you are resting”. “A walrus is not usually a danger to humans as long as we keep a safe distance. But if a human disturbs it and cannot rest enough, it may feel threatened and attacked.”

A protected species, walruses feed mainly on invertebrates such as mollusks, shrimp, crabs, and small fish. Its average weight in adulthood is about a ton for a male and 700 kg for a female.