Scarborough Council cancelled an official New Year’s Eve firework display last night out of concern for the welfare of visiting Arctic walrus Thor – only for him to leave the area before midnight struck.

The council said they were ‘disappointed’ to postpone the event but that the walrus’s safety ‘took precedence’ after they were advised by wildlife charity British Divers Marine Life Association that the bangers could distress Thor.

However, onlookers later confirmed that Thor entered the sea again before midnight on New Year’s Eve and swam away from Scarborough Harbour, where he had spent the day and the previous evening resting on a slipway.
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The wanderer has been seen in Hampshire, France and the Netherlands already this winter.

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/scarborough-walrus-council-cancel-new-years-eve-fireworks-to-protect-visiting-thors-welfare-but-he-swims-away-before-midnight-3970867