A wandering walrus who delighted thousands in Scarborough on New Year’s Eve has turned up 100 miles further up the North Sea coast.
A large crowd quickly gathered in the Northumberland town of Blyth on Monday lunchtime after a walrus was spotted resting on a wooden pontoon at the yacht club.
The assumption is that it is Thor, the juvenile male who parked himself on a slipway in Scarborough harbour on the evening of December 30 – just yards from the town’s cafes and slot machines – and slipped back into the water just under 24 hours later.
Thor, who was the first walrus recorded in Yorkshire, had swum round from the Hampshire coast, where he was spotted earlier in December.
Scarborough Council decided to cancel its New Year’s Eve fireworks display as part of the multi-agency effort to stop the massive animal getting agitated and coming to harm.
The new sighting of Thor coincided with the publication of a report from British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) into his visit to the Yorkshire seaside resort which said up to 500 people were watching his antics at any one time with thousands visiting the scene.
The report said most of the public were “taking photos and standing in disbelief – presumably floored by seeing a walrus!”
The BDMLR said it was alerted to Thor’s arrival in North Yorkshire at 11.30pm on December 30th by staff from Scarborough Sealife and their initial response was: “Are you joking?”.
It said that Thor moved his position as the tide level moved, with concerns at one point that he was heading towards the public road at the top of the slipway.
It also noted that he “demonstrated some natural male behaviour over the evening”.
The report said: “By 4pm (on December 31) Thor was becoming slightly more active, and at 4.30pm he sat up, turned around, and promptly slid off into the harbour.
“A cheer erupted from the crowd while BDMLR medics scrambled with radios to track which direction he went. This was assisted by some local youngsters who saw him swimming and we confirmed that he had swam off out of the harbour.”
It said most of the visitors behaved appropriately but police had to deal with “a small handful of difficult members of public, and one person breaking cordon and entering private property attempting to access the walrus for photographs.”
The BDMLR said: “Kind public asked many questions, offered and bought hot drinks and food, and expressed their appreciation of Thor being protected, with the overwhelming majority being immeasurably respectful to our visitor.
“At all times the crowd was at least 350 thick, at one point seemingly over 500 people were there with more bodies continually appearing from all avenues, roads, and even bus trips.
“It is estimated several thousand people were in attendance over the whole day, though likely far more.”
It praised the council for agreeing to its request to cancel the fireworks display.
It said: “BDMLR HQ spoke with the local council and liaison officers who explained the situation regarding fireworks to all council members who without reservation agreed the firework display would likely cause stress and alarm to the walrus, and therefore was cancelled without hesitation.
“This was an incredible step forward for animal welfare which has been tremendously backed by the public, official parties and the media.”
Humberside Police Sergeant Jenna Jones said: “Having starting Operation Seabird on the Yorkshire Coast to prevent disturbances to our seabirds and marine mammals it was an unbelievable privilege to support colleagues and volunteers ensuring Thor was healthy & undisturbed.
“I thank the public for keeping your distance & all your questions.
“You certainly tested my walrus knowledge!”
The film is based on the true story of Mamie Till-Mobley’s pursuit of justice for her 14-year-old son Emmett, who was lynched in 1955.
The Marvel actor shared an update on his progress on his Instagram story on Friday, the day before his 52nd birthday.
The 44-year-old actor has starred in the recent James Bond film series as MI6 chief of staff Bill Tanner.
The 68-year-old British playwright, novelist and filmmaker’s works include The Buddha Of Suburbia, Intimacy and Mother.
Sir Kenneth is returning as Hercule Poirot after starring in the previous films Murder On The Orient Express and Death On The Nile as the detective.
Hollywood's biggest stars are gearing up for the awards ceremony.
The Hollywood actor stars in the title role of the new comedy, A Man Called Otto, while his son Truman plays a younger version of the character.
The Banshees Of Inisherin and Baz Luhrmann’s biopic of Elvis also appear in a number of categories.
Truman Hanks makes his movie debut in A Man Called Otto playing the young Otto.
A number of awards season hopefuls make their way to streaming services in the new year.
Miles from civilisation and cloaked in fog, The Rig is propped up by an excellent ensemble cast.
Sir Ridley Scott is planning to start filming his 'Gladiator' sequel as early as May.
‘This is what we’ve been doing forever,’ said the ‘Forrest Gump’ star
Award season frontrunners came together for one of the first times on Thursday as festival got underway in Palm Springs, California.
The book, titled Call Me Anne, is due to be published posthumously.
Martin Scorsese made a surprise virtual appearance at the 2023 New York Film Critics Circle Awards, where he presented “Tár” director Todd Field with the best feature award. Scorsese, who directed “Tár” actor Cate Blanchett to an Oscar in “The Aviator,” lauded Field’s drama as “a real high wire act” and said the film lifted […]
‘We’ve all got to start somewhere,’ actor joked
Singer has been accused of sexual assault and rape by multiple men
It was supposed to be Netflix’s big pre-Christmas smash but, weeks after setting sail, 1899’s number is up. The mind-bending multidimensional thriller has been cancelled with just one season under its belt – provoking predictable protests from its small, albeit vocal, fanbase and the inevitable online petition to bring it back.
2023 looks set to be the year that movies go full goblin mode.