The walrus that landed in Hamina is a well-known world traveler who has already received at least three names in different countries: Luffe, Sten and Stena. It is known to be the first walrus on the coast of Finland in modern history.
Hamina landed on Friday Stena– the walrus has probably swum to Finland from the Västerjökull mountain range, says the doctoral researcher Rune Aae from the University of Southeast Norway. He has compiled a map of the walrus’ journey All the way to the coast of Finland.
The first place marked on the map is in southwest Norway in Blimsanden, where the walrus was already spotted in mid-March. The next time it was seen was on the island of Læsø in the Kattegat sea area between Denmark and Sweden in May.
The next sightings of the walrus are from early June on the Swedish coast south of Gothenburg, from where it continued its journey to the German island of Rügen on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea.
Towards the end of June, the walrus had already reached Mielno on the Polish coast, from where it continued its journey north, showing up on the coasts of Kaliningrad and Latvia.
From Slītere National Park in Latvia, it traveled towards Finland, where it was first seen on Thursday evening in front of Hamina.
The walrus that swam in front of Hamina attracted a lot of attention on Friday.
The map in the compilation, Aae used news websites and social media from different countries, and she collected pictures of the walrus from each place where it had been seen. According to Aae, a walrus can be identified as the same individual based on its special appearance.
“The tips of its teeth almost touch each other, which is a very rare feature,” he says.
Along its journey, the walrus has already received several different names in different countries: Denmark Luffein Sweden Stan and in Latvia Stena. Aae uses the name Stena for the walrus, because the individual is female.
This year, another walrus named Freya has also ventured into the waters of southern Norway, Denmark, western Sweden and Holland. Aae has done the map about the journey of this walrus.
After paddling on the beach, the walrus started swimming towards the shore, but returned again to the vicinity of the beach.
Come on according to the Stena walrus was still in much slimmer condition when it was seen in Latvia at the beginning of July. Hamina’s appearance had visibly improved.
“Based on the pictures taken on Friday, the walrus is in good shape. After leaving Latvia, it has found plenty to eat.”
According to Aae, blue mussels and sand mussels are the walrus’ great delicacy. Fortunately for the walrus, both species can be found in the Baltic Sea. In one meal, a walrus can eat up to 60 kilograms, or as many as thousands of mussels.
After the meal, the walruses take a rest break and then continue swimming, Aae says.
In the morning, the police cordoned off the area where the walrus had risen from the water to the shore.
In Hamina, people gathered to try their luck if they saw a walrus.
Although there is nothing unusual about a walrus coming to the beach, this is the northernmost walrus sighting in the Baltic Sea and the first in modern history on the coast of Finland.
“Walruses very rarely come as far as the Baltic Sea,” says the special expert in marine mammal research Olli Loisa from Turku University of Applied Sciences.
Control veterinarian Jenni Hyväkkä and municipality veterinarian Tiina Lindholm on the beach, where the walrus arrived.
On Friday, he left for Hamina himself, so that he could see the rarity with his own eyes. However, to Loisan’s chagrin, the walrus had time to dive back into the sea, and the observation was not made.
In Hamina, the walrus’s movements were monitored by the police, rescue services and veterinarians.
In the photo, Veli-Matti Paronen, who encountered a walrus during his morning swim.
After the mursu landed in Hamina, the authorities thought about what to do with it. For example, it was irrigated with a water hose and consideration was given to a nursing home in Korkeasaari. In the end, the walrus was allowed to return to the sea on its own, as the veterinarian judged it to be in good health.
Loisan according to this, the animal’s situation and movements should be monitored, because it has ended up in an unusual environment.
“Watching is enough, and an animal that moves so well should not be caught. If it had been on the spirit level, then termination should have been considered.”
According to Loisa, the best option is to let the walrus go and at least not disturb it.
Mammal specialist Harri Muukonen watching a walrus.
“If it comes up again, you should stay away. There, you create a risk for yourself if you get too close, even though the walrus is not a malicious creature.”
The healthy walrus started swimming on its own, and there was no reason to save it.
Aae’s message is the same: leave Stena alone, it doesn’t need to be saved. He guesses that the walrus will be “trapped” in the Baltic Sea for a few months and might still show up again, for example, on the west coast of Finland.
“Walruses are social animals that thrive in a herd. I hope it turns away and finds its way back to its own people.”
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