JOURN SOUTH The imposing marine mammal, which usually lives around the Arctic Circle, was spotted Friday evening in the port of Dieppe
A similar walrus was observed in Seine-Maritime on Friday evening (illustration photo). — Vitaly Nevar/TASS/Sipa
Its presence in Normandy is exceptional. A walrus, which had been observed in the port of Dieppe on Friday evening, dived in the water on Saturday morning and has not reappeared, said the prefecture of Seine-Maritime. “At 10.30am this morning, the animal dived. in the water and its presence since then has not been recorded. found in or around the port,” the prefecture in a statement; forwarded to; AFP.
This protected marine mammal, which is usually seen only in northern Europe, had been spotted in the evening of Friday at the entrance to the port of Dieppe through the harbor master’s office. The teams from the Pelagis observatory, which specializes in in marine animals, and the French Office for Biodiversity. (OFB) have “not “noted” no health status alerts of the animal”.
It could be aggressive
The walrus is a mammal that usually comes out of the water to rest before heading back to the water. the favor of the tides. However, and since it’sa protected species, naturally fearful and with poor vision outside of water, this “” can be aggressive and pose a danger to those around him and himself,” put in place on Friday evening and a notice to navigation users had been enacted; in order to prevent any interaction or disturbance of the mammal until his departure.
On its website, the Pelagis Observatory points out that it is “rare for walruses to be observed as far from the Arctic Circle. The closest populations are in Svalbard and Greenland.” A protected species, the walrus feeds mainly on invertebrates such as molluscs, shrimps, crabs and small fish.
Several large marine mammals size have been found in Normandy or Brittany this year: a beluga and an orca in the Seine or even fin whales in Finistère.