Thor the walrus ruins New Year celebrations

The massive sea mammal forced a British port town to cancel fireworks

The arrival of a huge walrus in the British port town of Scarborough on the North Sea has thwarted the New Year celebration plans for the local authorities.

The huge animal was spotted resting in the harbor area on Friday. The young walrus was quickly identified as he had previously been spotted at the beaches of Hampshire in early December, as well as in the Netherlands and France. The maritime mammal is nicknamed Thor.

On Saturday, Scarborough Borough Council announced that it had decided to cancel the New Year’s Eve fireworks display on the advice of British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR). “There are concerns that the display could cause distress to the mammal,” it explained.

The council’s head Steve Siddons said he and the others were “disappointed” that the community had to be left without fireworks, but stressed that the well-being of the walrus came first, according to the Mirror.

A Warlrus has rocked up in Scarborough #Walrus #Scarborough #ClevelandWay pic.twitter.com/Cbwu8A0dTy

— Project Racing Snake 2022 (@Dendog_UK) December 31, 2022

BDMLR has welcomed the move by the Scarborough authorities, with its Yorkshire and Lincolnshire area coordinator Chris Cook explaining that “the creature needs time to rest and recuperate before it continues its journey.”

“It’s extremely rare that an Arctic walrus should come ashore on the Yorkshire coast,” Cook pointed out.

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Thor is believed to have come to the British shores from as far as Canada, with the animal expected to make his way back to the Arctic after his pit stop in Scarborough.