And in the end Freya was put down. The Norwegian government did not want to take any chances. The walrus that became a summer attraction in the Oslo fjord was too dangerous for the public and the authorities chose to proceed with euthanasia. “The decision was made on the basis of a comprehensive assessment of the continuing threat to human security,” the head of the Norwegian Fisheries Directorate, Frank Bakke-Jensen, said in a statement.
This concludes the adventure of the animal – whose name in Scandinavian mythology refers to the goddess of beauty and love – in the waters of the fjord, where since 17 July it unwittingly entertained dozens of tourists and residents. The large mammal, a female of about 600 kilos, was filmed – between a long nap and the other, a walrus can sleep up to 20 hours a day – chasing a duck, attacking a swan or getting on boats to lie in the sun, causing several to sink under its bulk. The walrus had also become a swimming buddy for many people.
“We have carefully examined all the possible solutions – continues Bakke-Jensen in the note -. We have concluded that we could not guarantee the welfare of the animal with any of the available means”. Previously, officials had said they were considering killing for the mammal because repeated calls to the public to stay away from the animal had been in vain. Despite the warnings, in fact, the onlookers continued to approach her, sometimes with children in tow, especially to take photographs.
Walruses normally live in the even more northern latitudes of the Arctic. Rune Aae, a biologist at Sorost-Norge University, has studied Freya’s behaviors in recent weeks and according to the scientist, the walrus entered the fjord by mistake while trying to swim north to go to the Arctic, near the Svalbard Islands. thousands of miles away. Freya had already been spotted in the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden before ‘deciding’ to spend part of the summer in Norway.
(Source Ansa)