Wally hitches a ride! Wandering walrus delights tourists in Isles of Scilly after scrambling up on boat to sunbathe

  • The Arctic animal was spotted slumbering on the boat on Saturday evening
  • One tourist said he was 'quite surprised because it is meant to be in the Arctic'
  • Experts think Wally floated on an ice floe from Greenland across the Atlantic 
  • The RSPCA has warned tourists not to get close to Wally, who is 'underweight'

By MailOnline Reporter

Published: | Updated:

Wally the wandering walrus has made a splash after he hitched a ride on a boat so he could sunbathe.

The Arctic animal is only about three years old but all his adventuring so far away from home has clearly left him feeling long in the tooth and in need of a rest.

He scrambled up onto a moored boat so he could catch up on his beauty sleep, while starstruck tourists clamoured to get close and take photos.  

Photographer Simon Carder, 56, was holidaying with his partner in the Isles of Scilly when their captain spotted the slumbering whopper at about 5.45pm on Saturday.

Simon whipped out his camera and took a collection of cracking photos of Wally. 

Experts think Wally the walrus floated over on an ice floe across the North Atlantic from Greenland before he ended up scrambling aboard a moored boat in the Isles of Scilly

Experts think Wally the walrus floated over on an ice floe across the North Atlantic from Greenland before he ended up scrambling aboard a moored boat in the Isles of Scilly

Wally the walrus clambered on to a moored boat to catch some beauty sleep

Wally the walrus clambered on to a moored boat to catch some beauty sleep 

Tourists have been delighted by the walrus aboard a boat in the Isles of Scilly

Tourists have been delighted by the walrus aboard a boat in the Isles of Scilly 

The wise-looking walrus patiently posed for the camera from his makeshift ship bed.

His wrinkly neck and bristly face make him look like a weather-beaten old sailor in the photos.

'It's certainly not something you expected to see and it was quite incredible really,' said Simon, of Bath, Somerset. 

'Obviously I'm quite surprised because it is meant to be in the Arctic rather than here.

'It was just lying there sunbathing, looking around. I think it had been there all afternoon.'

The porker - who could weigh up to a tonne - has been amazing locals since he hitched a ride on an arctic ice floe and first washed up in Wales. 

The bristly-faced Arctic animal displaying his long white teeth as tourists watch on from the Isles of Scilly off the coast of Cornwall in south-west England

The bristly-faced Arctic animal displaying his long white teeth as tourists watch on from the Isles of Scilly off the coast of Cornwall in south-west England

Where's Wally? Spot the Arctic animal far from home aboard one of the moored ships by the Isles of Scilly

Where's Wally? Spot the Arctic animal far from home aboard one of the moored ships by the Isles of Scilly

But the RSPCA has warned it is 'sad' to see the walrus so far from where he should be, adding that he is 'underweight' has been 'obviously disturbed' by day-trippers getting too close.  

Animal welfare groups believe Wally came across the North Atlantic Ocean from Greenland on an ice floe.

He has been travelling across the world since March, stopping off in Cornwall, Pembrokeshire and even Spain, France, and Ireland in his 2,000 mile adventure. 

Six days after first appearing in Ireland in March, the RSPCA were called out to check on the creature at the bottom of a cliff near Broad Haven South beach in Pembrokeshire, Wales. 

After becoming a known figure in the area, animal welfare groups believe he left after becoming 'obviously disturbed' by day-trippers getting too close. 

Wally the walrus was captured by photographer Simon Carder who was 'surprised' to see him so far from his Arctic home while on holiday in the Isles of Scilly with his partner

Wally the walrus was captured by photographer Simon Carder who was 'surprised' to see him so far from his Arctic home while on holiday in the Isles of Scilly with his partner

Irresponsible tourists tried to approach him using jet-skis, paddleboards and drones as he rested on a RNLI slipway in the town's harbour.

It became a concern for RNLI volunteers, who had to resort to shooing Wally off the slipway, using brooms and airhorns to try to move the animal.

The RSPCA Cymru and Dyfed-Powys Police had to issue a plea to tourists to keep their distance from Wally, who is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

RSPCA animal rescue officer Ellie West described Wally's plight as 'sad' during Radio 4's Today programme back in March.

She said at the time: 'Whilst it is a very unusual sight [...] it is quite a sad occurrence because we have to remember that this walrus is a very, very long way from where he should be.' 

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