A two-metre-long walrus, usually known to hang out mainly in the Arctic, paid a summer visit to a beach at Rügen on Germany's Baltic Coast last week, giving beachgoers an unusual moment for their vacations.
“People were thrilled. You don’t get an opportunity like that very often,” said Michael Dähne, director for marine mammals at the German Maritime Museum on Friday. The museum was notified when beachgoers spotted the walrus, and arranged for that area of the beach to be cordoned off.
While an occasional walrus has been spotted further north where the Baltic meets the North Sea, Dähne was unaware of any this far south before. He described the walrus as probably a female and in apparent good health.
As for the walrus's day at the beach? Not much of a show; like the human beachgoers, it spent its hours on the beach relaxing, napping, and maybe getting a tan. Later, it swam back to sea.
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