Museums | People gathered in Etu-Töölö to see the famous walrus

The museum the doors open on Tuesday at ten, but two figures are already sitting on the stairs a quarter of an inch away. Nine years old Jenna Heikkilä has come to the Natural History Museum to see the famous Hamina walrus.

“I really like animals,” says Heikkilä.

Heikkilä is accompanied by her grandmother, who carefully monitored the media when the walrus would be visible.

The duo has arrived well in time, already half an hour before the doors open. A queue has already gathered behind them, singles, couples and a group of schoolchildren.

Door opens early: ten to ten. A group of schoolchildren moves inside. People in line move to the ticket office.

The walrus can already be seen in the lobby, so many are waiting for it from the queue.

Even a small crowd gathers around the walrus. Various comments can be heard from all around: it’s big, that’s it, go away now.

The first-grade students of Helsinki’s new co-educational school have come there just by chance on the first day of the walrus, teacher Tuuli-Anna Raippalinna tells.

The accident does not seem to bother the students. Many people grab pictures of a well-known walrus from the media as proof that they have seen a celebrity.

Pictures many other than school children also clicked. Urda Stenius take a picture with a walrus. He is on his way to the gym, but decided to make a quick trip to the museum, to see the walrus, of course.

“Fineer than I could imagine,” commented Stenius.

Urda Stenius came to the museum just to see the walrus. Picture: Outi Pyhäranta / HS

On TV, the walrus didn’t look as impressive, but bigger. The walrus was said to have weighed around 600 kilograms when alive. Now it looks small for its live weight.

The school class has already moved on, and the initial panic around the walrus has subsided. Although only for a moment, because soon more school children will enter the doors.

The museum knew how to expect a crowd, and the new addition will certainly interest visitors. But the walrus hardly predicted such an end to his life when he laid down in the yard of the eagle’s house.