An arctic walrus was spotted on an Irish island off the coast of Kerry on Sunday morning after it drifted into Irish waters from Greenland.
Alan Houlihan and his five-year-old daughter Muireann spotted the walrus on Valentia Island off the Dingle Peninsula as they walked along Glanleam Beach on Sunday morning.
The walrus is believed to be quite young since its tusks are just 30cm long and the animal was in an exhausted state on Sunday when Houlihan first spotted it.
Houlihan said that there was no sign of the walrus on Monday morning and said that he had never seen anything like it in Irish waters before.
He said that the animal was roughly the same size as a bull or a cow.
Flannery said that it was likely that the walrus was asleep on an iceberg that melted off the Greenland shelf and that the animal may have drifted across the Gulf Stream before ending up on Valentia Island.
He said that this was the first confirmed sighting of a Walrus in Irish waters and said that the incident was a "one-off".
However, several rare walrus sightings have been reported in Ireland over the years. A walrus was reportedly spotted on the Shannon in 1987, while another walrus was reportedly seen in Mayo in 1999.
An Arctic Walrus has landed on Valentia Island... believed to have made its way all the way from Greenland! It appears to be exhausted. Video by Alan Houlihan, whoâs 5 year old daughter was the first to spot the walrus. #Kerry pic.twitter.com/TLtBLBAZDk
— Seán Mac an tSÃthigh (@Buailtin) March 14, 2021
IWDG confirmed a Walrus sighting from Valentia. Co. Kerry earlier today. We would like to thank Alan Houlihan Who reported this sighting to us today March 14th 2021 from west of Knightstown, Valentia Island, Co. Kerry. pic.twitter.com/YxawS9Q4z2
— Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (@IWDGnews) March 14, 2021
