A walrus was seen in the port of Dieppe in Normandy in France, authorities said on Saturday. The animal was miles away from his natural habitat around the arctic circle.
The walrus, usually found in Alaska, Greenland or Russia, did not show any sign of ill health, the local government said in a statement.
Un morse a été observé ce soir dans le port de @dieppefr
— Préfet de Normandie et de la Seine-Maritime (@Prefet76) November 18, 2022
Les équipes @OFBiodiversite et #PELAGIS ne relèvent pas d'alerte concernant sa santé.
⚠️Mise en place d'un périmètre de sécurité à strictement respecter➡️les morses sont craintifs mais demeurent des animaux sauvages pic.twitter.com/cpUGl7PskT
Local authorities blocked off the area on Friday evening to protect the walrus, who was relaxing onshore, according to a picture tweeted by the prefecture. The walrus dived down into the sea on Saturday morning and disappeared.
This year, several animals from cold Arctic seas have strayed into French waters. In August, a beluga whale died in the Seine river, a few months after a killer whale died in the same river.
