'Poor behaviour' from some Scarborough walrus visitors - report

A wandering Arctic walrus that came ashore in Scarborough prompted poor behaviour from some of the huge crowds that came to see him, a report says.

The arrival on Friday night of the mammal, nicknamed Thor, drew thousands of people to the seaside town.

One onlooker broke through a cordon onto private property to try to take photos, according to the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) report.

It said there was also a "small handful of difficult members of the public".

Although the report highlighted some poor behaviour, it said the majority of people were "immeasurably respectful to our visitor" and expressed "their appreciation of Thor being protected".

The walrus, which led to the town's New Year's Eve fireworks being cancelled in order to protect the animal, was filmed returning to the sea on Saturday.

The creature has since been spotted 70 miles north, resting on a harbour in Blyth.

Detailing the incident in Scarborough, the report stated: "At 11.30pm on 30 December, Scarborough Sealife reported to BDMLR that a walrus was hauled out at Scarborough. The initial response was 'are you joking?!'"

A medic from the charity arrived to confirm sighting of the walrus and a cordon was put in place while police and other organisations were involved in the response.

The report said: "We hoped that he would swim off out of the harbour and his visit would be one of almost disbelief and mostly rumour by the morning. Instead, he got himself comfortable and fell asleep again."

The creature's surprising appearance prompted attention from all over the country, with one family coming from France, according to the report.

It described how at all times the crowd was "at least 350 thick" with "more bodies continually appearing from all avenues, roads and even bus trips".

The report said over the course of the day, it estimated several thousand people turned out, while "Thor continued to sleep, having an occasional reposition and brief look around".

Although it was noted that during the night Thor "was agitated by a few noisy vehicles passing with bright lights".

By 16:00 GMT Thor had become "slightly more active" and 30 minutes later, "he sat up, turned around, and promptly slid off into the harbour".

The report stated: "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."

The report praised everybody involved in the response and their combined efforts "to keep this juvenile walrus safe and undisturbed."

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