Nature and Travel | Iceland Monitor | Thu 2 Aug 2018 | 16.43 GMT

Walrus found in East Iceland

Image 1 of 9 Rostungur í Álftafirði Ljósmynd/Andrés Skúlason

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Image 9 of 9 Rostungur í Álftafirði Ljósmynd/Andrés Skúlason

A large toothless walrus swam to shore in Þvottárfjara beach in Álftafjörður, East Iceland on Tuesday. Walruses are not native to Iceland.

According to marine biologist Erlingur Hauksson the animal is probably a youngster that swam to Iceland from Greenland. "He has no teeth so he's probably younger than three years old."

He explains to mbl.is that a toothless walrus has difficulty obtaining food for himself. A walrus female feed their young milk for 18 months and for another year she hunts shellfish and other food for the baby.

Hauksson is surprised how relaxed the walrus was despite being approached by lots of people who wanted to capture photos of him. "Maybe he was tired, I'm surprised that he didn't do anything and didn't behave aggressively."

Attachment: "Rostungur í Álftafirði" nr. 10804