Thor the walrus ruins New Year celebrations

The arrival of a huge walrus in the British port town of Scarborough on the North Sea thwarted the local authorities' New Year celebration plans.

The huge mammal, nicknamed Thor, was seen resting in the harbor area on Friday and had previously been spotted on the beaches of Hampshire in early December, as well as in the Netherlands and France. 

On Saturday, Scarborough Borough Council announced that it had decided to cancel the New Year’s Eve fireworks display on the advice of British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR). “There are concerns that the display could cause distress to the mammal,” it explained.

The council’s head Steve Siddons said he and the others were “disappointed” that the community had to be left without fireworks, but stressed that the well-being of the walrus came first, according to the Mirror.

BDMLR has welcomed the move by the Scarborough authorities, with its Yorkshire and Lincolnshire area coordinator Chris Cook explaining that “the creature needs time to rest and recuperate before it continues its journey.”

“It’s extremely rare that an Arctic walrus should come ashore on the Yorkshire coast,” Cook pointed out.

Thor is believed to have come to the British shores from as far as Canada, with the animal expected to make his way back to the Arctic after his pit stop in Scarborough.