Thor the walrus: Arctic mammal spotted in Iceland after New Year's holiday in Scarborough

The mammal arrived overnight on December 30 last year and found a comfortable spot to sleep for the majority of New Year’s Eve on Scarborough Harbour’s slipway, before moving to Blyth in Northumberland.

He has now been spotted “frolicking on a floating dock” in Breiðdalsvík, Iceland on Friday.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue’s Director of Welfare and Conservation said they could confirm it was Thor from markings that matched pictures taken in Scarborough of the animal’s foreflippers.

“After Thor's visit to the UK we wondered if we would ever see him again,” a spokesperson said. “We are delighted to have been informed that he is in Iceland.”

Icelandic broadcaster RUV said Thor had declined “offers of frozen herring” from the harbour guard when he arrived in Breiðdalsvík, about 864 miles from Scarborough.

Thor is known to have hauled out in the Netherlands, France, Hampshire, Scarborough and Blyth this winter and it is thought he could have travelled from as far as the Canadian Arctic.

His surprise visit prompted an emergency response from Scarborough Sea Life Centre and BDMLR who began monitoring the walrus. North Yorkshire Police erected a cordon at the edge of the harbour to manage crowds.

Scarborough Council cancelled the official New Year’s Eve fireworks display at the Spa out of concern for the walrus’ welfare, which then slid back beneath the waves before midnight.

A councillor later claimed that Scarborough College had received “dozens of international admissions enquiries” following Thor’s visit to the Yorkshire Coast.

Scarborough Mayor Cllr Eric Broadbent appeared on TV news in Australia and messages of praise following the response to the walrus’ arrival came from shores as far away as the United States of America and Canada.

An official incident report into Thor’s Scarborough trip said the “overwhelming majority” of members of the public expressed their appreciation of the walrus being protected and were “immeasurable respectful” to the unusual visitor.

However, there were a “small handful of difficult members of the public”, including one who broke the cordon and entered a private property in an attempt to take photographs.