Seal Rescue Ireland says Wali Wali has been photographed in Iceland.
In a series of tweets last night, the organization said it compared images of the mammals from British divers saving marine life and confirmed that the walrus seen yesterday was a Wali.
Arctic walruses were first seen in Ireland off the coast of Valentia Island in March.
He has since traveled 4,000 kilometers along the coast of Western Europe, where he has been seen in France, Spain and the United Kingdom.
This has been confirmed as a good thing! Note the similar scars on the front of the front fins. We’re totally past the moon because he’s not only still alive and well, he’s on his way home at the North Pole.
Photo: Hafrún Eiríks / Höfn (@instagrammotamyndir) 3/7 pic.twitter.com/yK91CJJEiH– Seal Rescue Ireland (@seal_rescue) September 20 2021
The intrepid explorer also made headlines for climbing or sinking a number of boats in the ports he visited.
The Wali’s last known location was off the coast of West Cork, 900 kilometers from where it was recently photographed.
The organization said Wali was seen «swimming back to the sea last night (and even managing to avoid sinking any boats while he was there).»
“We are very grateful to the many members of the public who have shown support and love for this walrus by giving him a safe place to rest and gather his strength while visiting our beaches ahead of this wonderful trip.
«Thanks to his ability to feed and comfort, he has made it through this long and we hope to meet his kind again soon.»
Wally is ‘heading home’ to Greenland
A sighting officer at the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group said Whale does not appear lost, but appears to be holding himself back as he heads home to Greenland.
«It’s really interesting and yet a fascinating mystery at the same time,» Padraig Woolley told RTÉ on Morning Ireland.
Mr Woolley said Wally was last seen at Crockhaven in West Cork on August 30, before he completely disappeared from the radar, which was very surprising.
Apparently the animal went swimming in a large ocean before ending up in Iceland.
He said: “This could have been a trek of at least 1,5,000-1,600 kilometres, so it’s really an impressive trail that takes place in 19 days which averages 80 kilometers a day or about forty-three minutes. kilometers per hour, which is a really impressive swim. Not bad for an animal that people think is injured.”
Mr Whooley said they are confident the Icelandic walrus is Wally because the same defect can be seen on the animal’s right flippers.
He added that walruses are as rare in Iceland as they are in Ireland.
«He hasn’t made it home yet. He still has to go up to northern Iceland, which will take him inside the Arctic Circle.
«Then the most likely destination would be to make this pass 300 km from northern Iceland in a western direction that would take him to Greenland, where he would find plenty of walruses and perhaps even his clan,» he said.
Mr. Woolley said Wally’s trip is a good example of citizen science and how members of the public can help improve understanding of these animals.
He said there was a possibility that more walruses or «Arctic vagrants» would appear off the Irish coast in the future.
There is currently a female walrus in the Netherlands, he said, who will likely descend in the North Sea into the Strait of Dover and «end up fairly quickly off the Irish coast as well».