{"id":554660,"date":"2026-04-28T07:37:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T07:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/554660\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T07:37:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T07:37:11","slug":"people-urged-not-to-approach-injured-walrus-spotted-on-scottish-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/554660\/","title":{"rendered":"People urged not to approach injured walrus spotted on Scottish coast"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Nicknamed Magnus, the animal is believed to be the same walrus first spotted in Orkney on April 16<\/a>. It has since swum to the mainland and has been spotted across the north east coast.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said that, as with previous such visitors from the Arctic, it is likely to be a young animal travelling in unfamiliar waters<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\n Measuring an estimated eight-feet in length and weighing several hundred kilograms, Magnus was first spotted in Lossiemouth on Tuesday and was then seen reappearing near Macduff just 24 hours later, before once again moving on.\n<\/p>\n

\n READ MORE: Andy Murray given green light for refurbishment plans for his luxury five-star hotel<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n On Monday morning, the walrus was sighted in Findochty, on the shores of the Moray<\/a> Firth, marking yet another stop in its unusual tour of the area.\n<\/p>\n

\n BDMLR has been tracking the Arctic animal with medics trying to assess whether it is injured.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n The organisation has asked for the precise location of the walrus not to be shared to prevent crowds from gathering.\n<\/p>\n

\n Police have also urged people to call BDMLR if they spot Magnus.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n In a statement, a Police Scotland<\/a> spokesperson said: \u201cOver the past few days, we have had an unusual visitor from the Arctic to our shores in the north east.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe appreciate this has caused a lot of excitement and people are naturally keen for a glimpse.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe would be grateful should our visiting walrus pull ashore, that the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) are contacted on 01825 765546.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cYou can also call Police Scotland on 101 to advise us of the walrus\u2019s location.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cOur Wildlife<\/a> Crime<\/a> team and local policing teams are working closely with BDMLR to ensure the wellbeing of the walrus and members of the public.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n The last walrus to visit Orkney was in March 2018, when an animal briefly stopped at North Ronaldsay before making its way to Sanday (Image: Archive)\n<\/p>\n

\n Walruses are protected from disturbance by law and BDMLR said anyone witnessing such an incident should contact police.\n<\/p>\n

\n Anyone who does see the walrus is advised to remain at least 100 metres away, stay quiet and avoid sudden movement, keep dogs on leads and avoid getting between the creature and the sea.\n<\/p>\n

\n A spokesperson for BDMLR previously said: \u201cWalruses are occasional visitors to UK shores, with sightings increasing in recent years \u2013 thought to be linked to loss of sea ice habitats in the Arctic.\n<\/p>\n

\n READ MORE: ‘National humiliation’ as ‘obsequious’ UK sends King to US to appease Donald Trump<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThese animals rely heavily on undisturbed rest to conserve energy during long journeys.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cUnfortunately, past incidents have shown that even with management in place, disturbance can and does still occur.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cCrowds, noise, drones and attempts to get closer for photos can cause the animals significant stress, sometimes forcing them back into the water prematurely or preventing them from resting altogether.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe urge the public to help in giving this animal the space needed to rest, recuperate his energy, and continue their journey safely when ready.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nicknamed Magnus, the animal is believed to be the same walrus first spotted in Orkney on April 16.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":554661,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[90,56,54,55,4407],"class_list":["post-554660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=554660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/554661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=554660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=554660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=554660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}