A large walrus has been seen enjoying the sun on the west coast of Scotland.
Creel fisherman Lorn MacRae was surprised to see the Arctic animal laying on rocks on Cairn na Burgh Beag in the Treshnish Isles near the Isle of Mull on Monday.
He quickly snapped photos of the walrus and sent them to the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) organisation. After analysing the pictures, the HWDT described the animal as "massive".
It marks the first sighting of a walrus in the HWDT's database, with the marine charity having been monitoring wildlife off Scotland’s west coast for more than 25 years.
This recent sighting is not the first time that a walrus has been spotted on the coast of the UK in recent months. In December and January, a walrus that has been nicknamed Thor was observed on the south and east coasts of England before turning up in Iceland last week.
It is speculated that the newly spotted walrus could potentially be Thor, and so the HWDT have asked anybody who sees it to report their sighting on its Whale Track app and send in any photographs. This will allow experts to monitor the movement and health of the animal, as well as add to the understanding of marine life in Scotland’s waters.
HWDT Education Officer Sadie Gorvett commented: “Reporting through Whale Track provides us with vital data on the species in our seas, helping monitor the different species. Through Photo-ID, we can find out more about the animals life, monitoring its movements and health.
"We don’t have walrus as a specific species in Whale Track as it is such a rare sighting, however people can report it using the category ‘other’ and put the species in the comments section.”
According to the HWDT's, walruses historically rarely visit Scotland—though there has been an increase in the number of UK sightings in recent years. More information can be found on their website.
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