Lost Walrus Has Now Been Spotted in Wales

A hulking beast more suited for the icy north has been spotted yet again in the British Isles. Per the BBC, a walrus was seen on a Welsh sea cliff on Friday just days after a father and daughter were shocked by the very same sight on an island some 300 miles away off Ireland's southwestern coast. Described by one witness as about the size of a cow, the walrus was probably underweight after potentially traveling south on an errant iceberg thanks to a poorly timed nap. The Ireland sighting was believed to be the first of its kind and the second, while very likely the same animal, was unlikely any more common for Wales.

Per the Irish TImes, the walrus is likely to have originated in Greenland. It was first seen on Ireland's Valentia Island last Sunday, where scientist surmise it arrived via the Gulf Stream. While the sighting wowed onlookers in both Ireland and Wales, the walrus is likely not well. After such a long trip to a region far outside its comfort zone, witnesses said the walrus appeared emaciated and tired. Once hunted to the cusp of extinction for their ivory tusks, walruses yet again face human-caused peril as its Arctic warms and its habitat melts away. (More Arctic stories.)