In due time, she reached Denmark, went to Germany, Scotland and the Netherlands, leaving behind a trail of lounging and destruction. Because Freya isn’t famous only because she’s an adventurer like no other: she’s famous because she sinks small boats by sunbathing on them (and occasionally getting into fights with swans or refusing to be bothered by humans).
As of a couple of months now, Freya is in Norway where, you guessed it, she keeps sinking boats by trying to lay on them for her sunny naps. Freya weighs 1,500 pounds (680 kg) and she’s clearly not aware of it, given that she often climbs on watercraft made for a much smaller payload. The bad news is that this much fame is ending up stressing her out: Rune Aae, researcher and doctoral fellow in science education at the University of South-eastern Norway, tells Science Norway that she needs a time-out from all the attention.
Put it simply, because she’s famous and an unusual sight, Freya is gathering crowds like a Hollywood A-lister. Unlike those, she’s not accustomed to crowds, so she’s experiencing stress. “She doesn’t get any peace,” Aae explains. “They are too close, I think. And it is not just one boat, but a dozen boats.”
Researchers built a floating dock for Freya in Oslo but, so far, she’s stayed true to her preference for small boats and inflatables, much to their owners’ chagrin. The plan is that, once the walrus is accustomed to her own dock, researchers will move her back to the Arctic circle where she came from. All jokes aside, while Twitter is praising Freya for reclaiming the waters of Oslo while having the best hot girl summer ever, her presence is both a danger and a warning sign.
SUBMARINE SLEEP: A famous Dutch walrus named Freya hopped on board a Royal Netherlands Navy submarine to take a nap on Wednesday morning. Freya has been in the area for two months now, local news says. pic.twitter.com/vxi3KBSMOh
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 27, 2021
Big story in Norway this summer is a walrus we've named Freya has made it to our shores and is touring the country, laying around and sinking boats pic.twitter.com/rQolsxd88b
— Wild Geerters (@steinkobbe) July 19, 2022
Freya finding the bilge pump useful (activated by Freya filling the boat in the first place ????) pic.twitter.com/02VzN0VN76
— Knut Karlsen (@etunKo) July 19, 2022
Freya is not sinking boats, she is reclaiming her time, and territory. She is big, and she is beautiful, and your pleasure boat engines melted her polar ice, so fair exchange.
— Forest Garden ??????????????? (@Ninjamonkky) July 19, 2022