A false alarm sparked fears that Wally the Walrus had died.
Reports were circulating that the lovable creature, which made Tenby his one-time home, had been washed up on the North Devon coast.
Concerns were raised that the carcass of the walrus had been found just near the Hangman Hills at Combe Martin. But Wally fans were later breathing a sigh of relief after it was confirmed not to be the popular Arctic walrus.
Read more: Wally the Walrus sinks two boats as desperate plans are made to end his carnage
A spokesman for British Divers Marine Life Rescue said: “We were made aware that a decomposing animal carcass found floating at sea off North Devon was thought to be a walrus, prompting fears that this could be the well-known animal that has visited Ireland, Wales, and the Isles of Scilly over the last few months.
"We would like to reassure everyone that following further investigation thanks to the help of OSKC Watersports the carcass was identified as that of a beaked whale, most likely a Cuvier’s, and was definitely not a walrus.”
Wally in recent weeks has been given a floating sofa after the creature caused thousands of pounds of damage to boats off west Cork in Ireland. He managed to sink a couple of small boats on his travels.
Walrus tend to rest either on land or floating objects to relax, which led to an appeal from Seal Rescue Ireland (SRI) for the donation of an unused rib or large pontoon to allow him to rest. Sightings of the large character have also been reported in Baltrum in Lower Saxony.
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