Walrus spotted at Harlingen pier leaves for North Pole

A female walrus seen swimming around Schiermonnikoog early last week, was spotted hanging out on the Zuiderpier in Harlingen on Thursday. A spokesperson of the Seal Center in Pieterburen told the AD that the walrus left later that evening, likely heading towards the north pole.

It was the first time in 23 years that a walrus was spotted along the Dutch coast.

Experts from the Pieterburen seal center went to have a look at the animal and concluded that the walrus seems to be in a good condition, except for some superficial injuries on her front legs. The injuries were probably caused by mussel- or oyster beds in Germany, the seal center said to NU.nl.

The seal center does not intend to try and catch the walrus. The animal is much too big, weighing hundreds of kilograms.

"Adventurous walruses can survive well and eventually migrate to their original habitat on their own, provided they get some rest," Hans Verdaad, researcher at Wageningen University, said on Twitter.

#walrus gespot op de #pier in #Harlingen. pic.twitter.com/pzU2LOJUDq

— Jannette Van der Ploeg (@JupIkBenEr) September 30, 2021