Norway unveiled a bronze statue of a female walrus, nicknamed “Freya”, which gained global attention last summer after people flocked to watch it in the Oslo Strait enjoying sunbathing, before the Norwegian authorities resorted to euthanizing her life.

The life-size statue depicts Freya lying on her side on the rocky shore of Oslo’s Köngen Marina. And swans, resting on boats.

Inauguration of a statue of the famous walrus “Freya” in Norway

Officials chose to remove her via euthanasia in August, citing indications she was experiencing stress and amid fears she posed a threat to members of the public who did not keep their distance as required. $1,000 to build a statue to commemorate Freya.

“I started this because I am angry at the way the Fisheries Department and the state have handled this situation,” Holm said at the opening ceremony. .

A female walrus is lying on the deck of a boat

Statue of a female walrus

Ending Freya’s life by euthanasia

Freya, whose age was estimated to be about five years old, was seen in the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, before she spent part of the summer in Norway, and walruses are a protected species that usually live in the northern latitudes of the Arctic.

Despite repeated pleas to the public to stay away, onlookers with children sometimes approached the animal to take pictures. Although walruses do not usually act aggressively towards humans, they can feel threatened by intruders and attack them.

Critics said the decision to euthanize Freya was hasty and did not take the animal’s welfare into consideration, while officials said that “drugging Freya and moving her to a less populated area would have been a very complicated process.”

Crowds flock to watch the female walrus