Freya the Boat Sinking Walrus - A Marine Biologist Explains

#walrus #freya #kpassionate
Freya the boat sinking walrus has become famous in Norway after touring the scenic coastline, feeding in local harbors, and of course... sinking boats. Locals have flocked to watch this slumbering walrus sleep on boats for days or weeks at a time.

I am a marine biologist who has worked extensively with walruses. In fact, they are my favorite animal of all time. To me, there are a few reasons why this walrus is sinking boats. And it’s not because Freya is a destructive animal or on a mission to ruin people’s nautical hobbies.

Walruses, because of their physiology and their life cycle, have a very serious need to haul out of the water. What normally happens with walruses is they will spend days at a time out to sea foraging for food. Sometimes even up to a week. And while they can rest while out to sea… walruses don’t sleep in the water.

A new study on the sleeping habits of walruses determined walruses engage in periods of almost continuous swimming for up to 84 hours. While other animals, including humans, can stay awake and active for this amount of time, to do this regularly and without forceful intention was previously unheard of.

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna29616122

Once a walrus returns to land, or hauls out on an ice flow, they will settle into a very deep sleep that can last for days. I’ve personally seen a walrus sleep for three days straight. These boats, especially the inflatable zodiacs that are lower to the surface of the water, resemble ice flows. So Freya the Norwegian Walrus is behaving perfectly naturally when she hauls out onto a boat and falls asleep. Unfortunately, these boats are unable to support her weight and eventually sink. Leaving this wandering walrus to find a new boat to sleep on.

Links, Sources, and Original Videos of this Norwegian walrus sinking boats:
https://tv.vg.no/video/241746/se-foelg-hvalrossen-freya-minutt-for-minutt

https://globalnews.ca/news/9022425/freya-the-walrus-sinks-boats-norway/

https://www.nbcnews.com/video/sunbathing-walrus-sinks-boats-in-norway-142598725939

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/freya-the-walrus-norway-sinking-boats-rcna40174

https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2022-02-24/freya-the-walrus-has-been-spotted-again-after-northumberland-visit

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Additional Imagery:
Valerii - stock.adobe.com
A.Lukin -stock.adobe.com
Thirawatana - stock.adobe.com
zanskar/Pond5 - stock.adobe.com
VIDEODIVE/Pond5 - stock.adobe.com
Video S1 from Monson D, Udevitz M, Jay C (2013). "Estimating Age Ratios and Size of Pacific Walrus Herds on Coastal Haulouts using Video Imaging". PLOS ONE. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0069806. PMID 23936106. PMC: 3729469
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/deed.en