Wally the walrus has seemingly arrived in France - but is understood to be suffering with a minor injury having been hit by a boat.
Wally turned up on a slipway in Les Sables-d'Olonne, a seaside town in western France, on Thursday and was seemingly healthy and content.
But it's been reported by authorities in France that the "competent services" have stepped in to keep a watchful eye after a "shock with a boat".
According to a statement on the Les Sables-d'Olonne Facebook page, the errant walrus is "very slightly injured and stressed after a shock with a boat".
The French have enjoyed the novelty of Wally's arrival, with one posting on Facebook how it was "surprising" to come face to face with the Artic mammal who seemed "intrigued" by his fishing boat.
Wally's movements are being monitored by the Observatoire Pelagis at La Rochelle University, which received reports that he'd popped up in the port of Saint Gilles-Croix-de-Vie. The next day he moved to Les Sables-d'Olonne where he was "trying to rest in the riprap of a dike".
They warned: "As a protected species, state services can issue a ticket to deter people from approaching the animal both on land and at sea."
Wally has been pictured soaking up the sun on the continent apparently nonplussed by the attention he is attracting on his travels. First spotted in Ireland on March 15, he crossed over to the Pembrokeshire coastline and stayed in Tenby for a few weeks before heading south to Cornwall and now France.
The government page representing the French seaside town added: "50 years since such a visit. A young walrus decided to visit us for a few hours. It measures between three and four metres and weighs nearly 350 kilos."
French authorities have also advised walkers not to approach Wally and to keep a safe distance, saying: "This is a wild, dangerous, powerful animal that can go very fast ashore."
