Walrus Falls Asleep On Iceberg, Wakes Up In Ireland

Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor

Mar 17, 2021 9:00 AM EDT

A giant Arctic walrus was spotted resting on a rock on Valentia Island off Ireland's southwest coast in County Kerry by a young girl, having likely fallen asleep on an iceberg and drifted aaall the way from home to this new strange land.

According to 9NEWS, it was reported in Irish media that the young daughter of Valentia Islander Alan Houlihan, Muireann, was one of the first people to see the walrus.

"I thought it was a seal at first and then we saw the tusks," Houlihan told the Irish Examiner. "He kind of jumped up on the rocks. He was massive." He added: "He was about the size of a bull or a cow, pretty similar in size, he's big, big."

A local marine biologist, Kevin Flannery, explained that the walrus is from the Arctic and most likely "fell asleep on an iceberg and drifted off." "He would be pretty tired and pretty hungry at this stage," Mr. Flannery told the Examiner. "That is usually what happens to them is that they fall asleep on an iceberg and then get carried off from the Arctic."

Check out videos and pictures of the walrus below!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to start your Caturday with the funniest felines on the internet!

Add as a preferred
source on Google

01

via @Independent_ie

It's a pretty funny story, let's be real, but even so, we hope this amazing sleepy creature manages to find its way back home to its family. This land is not for him, and much as this is definitely something that is amazing for us to see, we can only imagine the confusion that this big guy is feeling.
02

via @OSullivanJennie

It is still amazing though. Something like this though allows us to not only appreciate an animal that is not talked about very often but also learn about it. And in this case, we learned about its great ability to sleep just about anywhere for a very long period of time.
03

via Twitter

For more silly animal stories, read about a seal that has been rescued 4 times in 3 different countries.
04

via @OSullivanJennie
05

via @OSullivanJennie
06

via @Buailtin
07

via @OSullivanJennie, Seánie Murphy/Valentia
08

via @Independent_ie
09
Twitter also weighed in of course

via @BigDirtyFry
10

via @MallowNews

Can't get enough of ICanHasCheezburger? Then you're in luck because we're now on Instagram!