Rare walrus sighting in N.L. captures local attention

Walrus spotted off Newfoundland A lone walrus was spotted bobbing around in the waters off northern Newfoundland.

As springtime brings hundreds of icebergs into the chilly waters off Newfoundland, another Arctic emissary is capturing local attention.

A lone walrus was spotted Monday bobbing in waters off Newfoundland’s northern tip, at St. Lunaire-Griquet.

Walruses are rarely seen in the area and are known to live in large herds. It’s unclear what may have drawn the marine mammal to the region.

A small crowd gathered at White Cape Harbour to catch a glimpse of the tusked beast.

“Everyone was very surprised,” said Ruby Taylor Peyton, who brought her camera with her to snap photos of the walrus. “Never saw anything like that around here.”

Walruses were once much more common in the region. The Northwest Atlantic population of walruses was known for rearing pups in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This population is now considered extirpated, meaning it is no longer found in the Canadian wild. A Fisheries and Oceans report in 2008 concluded that the population’s recovery was not considered possible.

The Northwest Atlantic population is believed to have been decimated by excessive hunting.

Today, Canada’s Atlantic walrus population is protected by the federal Species at Risk Act. Population numbers aren’t precise, but the DFO estimates that there are several thousand Atlantic walruses living in herds in the Arctic Ocean, the Bering Sea, James Bay and along the Labrador coast.

Taylor Peyton posted photos of the walrus encounter of Facebook. Her post has since been shared more than 2,200 times.