Meet the internet's latest niche micro celeb: Freya the walrus

The sea mammal has gone viral on TikTok after being spotted on the Norwegian coastline - perhaps a spon-con deal awaits?

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photo: Jonathan Cooper on Unsplash
Hero image in post
photo: Jonathan Cooper on Unsplash

The sea mammal has gone viral on TikTok after being spotted on the Norwegian coastline - perhaps a spon-con deal awaits?

By Megan Wallace25 Jul 2022
2 mins read time
2 mins read time

Brits abroad get a pretty bad rep. Whether it's the lasting legacy of Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents or memories of chaotic lads' trips to Ibiza, no-one expects us to behave when we're on our holidays. But our feral girl summer antics have got nothing on the shenanigans of a certain Arctic sea mammal.

If you've been on TikTok or Twitter recently, you'll have seen that a walrus called Freya has been taking a particularly rowdy vacation to Norway, far from her home in the Arctic Circle. Freya has gained a bit of a bad rep, sinking multiple ships and boats after climbing onto them with her 700-kilogram frame and courting news headlines and social media coverage for her chaotic presence in the Nordic country.

However, like many women in the spotlight (you have to have watched the Britney documentary, right?) she's actually just a bit misunderstood. Far from actually wanted to cause trouble, Freya's just looking for somewhere to lounge and rest – it's not her fault she doesn't know that boats can't support her weight. As University of Southeast Norway walrus expert Rune Aae explained, speaking to Norwegian News Agency NTB about Freya's self-care routine; “She needs to relax for up to 20 hours.”

In fact, Freya really needs to be left on her own to chill a bit more, with Aae commenting that the press and public attention hasn't been doing her any favours. “When she is constantly stressed out by people and their presence, it is not good for her."

Luckily, specialists have made the mammal her own floating platform in Oslo's Frognerkilen Bay to try to stop her from finding her way into boats and courting all this media attention. The hope is that, with time, she grows used to her surroundings and can eventually be transported back home to the Arctic Circle.

Norway isn't the first destination Freya has been spotted and she has made appearance at various other stops such as Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Scotland, in what looks suspiciously like a European tour. Who knows, she could be coming to a coastal town near you...

Check out some of our favourite Freya moments below