Norway warns it may have to kill Freya, the beloved 900kg walrus

A huge walrus named Freya is causing problems in Norway – and the Norwegian government has warned that she may have to be euthanized if the Norwegians don’t leave her alone.

Norway’s Directorate of Fisheries told CNN it was “monitoring the situation” around the Freya River, and is keeping a close eye on the walrus with a patrol vessel. The young female walrus was spending time in the Oslo Fjord, a small bay on the country’s southeast coast.

“The public recently ignored the current recommendation to keep a clear distance from walruses,” Nadia Al-Jadaini, a spokeswoman for the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, said in an email to CNN.

Al-Jedini said that visitors swim with Freya, throw objects at her and approach her to take pictures—sometimes “with their children behind.”

For the board of directors, that means their warnings aren’t enough.

“We will have to look at options other than the current strategy to ask people to stay away from wild animals,” Al-Jedini said. “One of those options, as the council has mentioned earlier, since the beginning of this summer, is to give the green light to a controlled operation to slaughter the animal.”

“Other possible solutions, such as removing the animal from the Oslo Strait, are also in the ongoing discussions.”

Al-Jedini said that a female walrus weighs between 600 and 900 kilograms. According to the World Wildlife Fund, more than 25,000 Atlantic walruses make their homes in the frigid waters around Canada, Greenland, Norway, and Russia. Marine mammals migrate along the coast to feed on mollusks and other invertebrates in shallow waters.

Freya became a sensation on social media this summer, Ron I, who studies biology at Southeastern Norway University and runs a map to see Freya, told CNN. Many popular videos show walruses climbing into small boats to sunbathe.

“Usually walruses appear on some islands, but they leave soon because they are afraid of people,” he said.

But he said Freya is “not afraid of people”. “Actually, I think she likes people. That’s why she won’t leave.”

Aae said the last time walruses were documented as far south as the North Sea was in 2013. “This is not common” – prompting throngs of Norwegians to flock to see Freya, he said.

Aae said the council’s plan to get Freya out of the fjord would be logistically difficult and dangerous, as it would require careful timing of the anesthesia to ensure she did not sink into the water.

Ideally, Freya would go out on her own, as she did in March after visiting the Oslo Fjord, he said.

“Killing her is an easy way out,” Aae said. “Maybe the mood in your public opinion has changed. So I really hope they try to change it, or have the patience to wait.”