– Now we have found her, and registered that she is here, says Rolf Harald Jensen, section chief in the maritime service in the Directorate of Fisheries to news. news joined the search for Freya the walrus on Saturday. The 600-kilogram celebrity hardly needs any introduction anymore. She has been on everyone’s lips – and many people’s piers and boats – in recent weeks. news was with the Directorate of Fisheries in search of the walrus Freya. She was found in Snarøykilen in Bærum. Photo: Olav Døvik / news On Friday evening at 11pm, she was observed outside Lysaker by Bøyesanden. On Saturday, Freya was found slumped in a rib in Snarøykilen in Bærum. – We will stay here and be present, and ensure that the public keeps a safe distance, says Jensen. Has punctured the boat Earlier on Saturday, the Directorate of Fisheries received a tip that Freya had been observed in the Bunnefjorden. – It turned out to be a harbor seal, so it wasn’t her, says Jensen. Instead, she has made herself comfortable in a boat lying on a buoy outside one of Norway’s most expensive areas, not far from where she was last observed. This rib must be patched before it is seaworthy again. Freya the walrus has actually punctured it when she crawled into it to rest. Photo: Olav Døvik / news It hasn’t just been going smoothly. – I see that boat has damage. It probably has a puncture, and will probably need to be patched before it is seaworthy again, notes Jensen. – In good condition The Directorate of Fisheries sent out a press release on Saturday urging people to keep their distance from Freya. They want her to live as normally as possible. And for now she is in good health. – It is a wild animal. Based on what we observed yesterday, it is alive and well. It has good condition, it takes in food, says Jensen. The walrus Freya was found resting in a rib outside Snarøykilen in Bærum on Saturday. Photo: Olav Døvik / news The Directorate of Fisheries will be keeping a close eye on Freya in the future. – We want to observe and follow how Freya behaves in terms of grazing and resting patterns. Oslo area a dead end Biologist Rune Aae at the University of South-Eastern Norway has contributed insight and analyzes of Freya’s behavior in recent weeks. He thinks the Oslo area will just be a dead end for her, and thinks he knows where she is going. – She only stays in one place for three to four days. She is basically hiking towards Svalbard, but she is not in a hurry, says Aae to NTB. Photo: Olav Døvik / news She does not need to return to Svalbard until she is sexually mature, and according to the biologist she will not be until three to four years from now, writes NTB.
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