Freya The Walrus

2019viral animalclassic

Freya The Walrus was a 1,300-pound female Arctic walrus who became an international news story in summer 2022 for climbing on and sinking small boats in Norwegian harbors. Named after the Norse goddess of beauty and love, she was euthanized by Norwegian authorities on August 14, 2022, triggering global backlash and comparisons to the 2016 killing of Harambe the gorilla.

animal memesaccidental fame memesdeath hoax tragedy memescelebrity animal memes2022 memes

Overview

Freya The Walrus was a wandering Arctic walrus weighing around 600 kilograms (1,300 pounds) who spent nearly three years traveling through the North Sea before becoming a summer 2022 celebrity in Oslo, Norway1. She was best known for hauling herself onto small boats to sleep, a habit that often left the vessels crushed or sinking under her weight2. Norwegian news outlets ran near-daily updates about her whereabouts, and international press coverage turned her into one of the most-watched marine animals of the year6.

Her fame ended abruptly on August 14, 2022, when the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries euthanized her, saying the public had ignored repeated warnings to keep away3. The killing set off an outpouring of grief online, protest campaigns, and a fundraising drive for a memorial statue in Oslo6. Many social media users compared her death to the 2016 killing of Harambe the gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo6.

How It Spread

Freya first trended on Twitter in late June 2022 after footage of her napping on small boats in the vacation town of Kragerø, Norway was picked up by major Norwegian outlets6. A tweet by @steinkobbe on July 19, 2022 celebrating her arrival racked up more than 116,000 likes within two months6. On July 17, she was spotted in Frognerkilen harbor near central Oslo, roughly 1,200 miles south of Svalbard where scientists believe she originated2.

The Oslo appearance turned into a public safety headache. Kathrine Ryeng of Norway's Institute of Marine Research told NBC News that Freya climbed empty boats because they reminded her of Arctic ice floes2. Officials asked tourists to keep their distance, but crowds ignored the warnings, swimming with her, throwing objects, and beckoning her toward shore for photos3. On one occasion, police had to evacuate a bathing area after she chased a woman into the water4. The Directorate of Fisheries initially said euthanasia was "out of the question" before reversing course6.

She was killed on the morning of August 14, 2022, in what the directorate described as a "humane" and "controlled" effort3. The backlash was immediate. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre defended the decision on public broadcaster NRK, saying it was "right" and that "sometimes we have to make unpopular decisions"4. A meme posted to Reddit's r/PoliticalCompassMemes on the day of her death picked up more than 2,600 upvotes within 24 hours6, while a viral tweet by @Unpop_Science calling her a "climate refugee" drew almost 7,500 likes in a day6.

How to Use This Meme

Freya The Walrus is more of a character and event meme than a template. Typical uses include reposting photos and clips of her sleeping on or sinking boats, sharing tribute posts marking the date of her death, and invoking her name in animal-welfare arguments where wildlife is killed for public safety reasons3. She is often paired with Harambe as shorthand for online outrage over the killing of a wild animal that people had gathered to watch6.

Cultural Impact

Within a week of her death, a Norwegian fundraiser to build a Freya statue in Oslo had drawn over $22,000 from more than 1,350 backers, blowing past its goal6. Organizers said the memorial was meant to remind future generations "that we cannot always kill and remove nature when it is 'in our way'"6. Her killing drew international news coverage from outlets including The Guardian, NBC News and BuzzFeed News4. An autopsy released to the press on September 1, 2022 by the Norwegian Veterinary Institute found she was in good health, and her skeleton was sent to the Natural History Museum in Oslo for storage rather than public display5.

Fun Facts

- Freya was named after the Norse goddess of beauty and love4.

- The first submarine she napped on was the Zr. Ms. Dolfijn, a Walrus-class vessel, a coincidence the Dutch navy itself pointed out1.

- Kathrine Ryeng, a Norwegian veterinary medicine scientist advising the fisheries directorate, described walruses as "potato sacks on a floating device, but like acrobats in water"2.

- Her necropsy found she was in good health and died instantly, with an empty stomach that offered no clues about her Oslo diet5.

- Her skeleton was donated to the Natural History Museum in Oslo, where it is stored but not put on public display5.

Derivatives & Variations

Reddit meme posted to r/PoliticalCompassMemes on August 14, 2022 mocking the decision to euthanize her, which drew more than 2,600 upvotes in a day[6]

Crowdfunded Freya memorial statue campaign in Oslo, which raised over $22,000 from 1,350+ backers by August 17, 2022[6]

Rune Aae's public Google map tracking Freya's North Sea travels, which circulated widely on social media[6]

The @Unpop_Science "climate refugee" tweet framing, which was picked up by other users to blame humans for her death[6]

Frequently Asked Questions

Freya The Walrus

2019viral animalclassic

Freya The Walrus was a 1,300-pound female Arctic walrus who became an international news story in summer 2022 for climbing on and sinking small boats in Norwegian harbors. Named after the Norse goddess of beauty and love, she was euthanized by Norwegian authorities on August 14, 2022, triggering global backlash and comparisons to the 2016 killing of Harambe the gorilla.

animal memes accidental fame memes death hoax tragedy memes celebrity animal memes 2022 memes

Overview

Freya The Walrus was a wandering Arctic walrus weighing around 600 kilograms (1,300 pounds) who spent nearly three years traveling through the North Sea before becoming a summer 2022 celebrity in Oslo, Norway1. She was best known for hauling herself onto small boats to sleep, a habit that often left the vessels crushed or sinking under her weight2. Norwegian news outlets ran near-daily updates about her whereabouts, and international press coverage turned her into one of the most-watched marine animals of the year6.

Her fame ended abruptly on August 14, 2022, when the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries euthanized her, saying the public had ignored repeated warnings to keep away3. The killing set off an outpouring of grief online, protest campaigns, and a fundraising drive for a memorial statue in Oslo6. Many social media users compared her death to the 2016 killing of Harambe the gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo6.

How It Spread

Freya first trended on Twitter in late June 2022 after footage of her napping on small boats in the vacation town of Kragerø, Norway was picked up by major Norwegian outlets6. A tweet by @steinkobbe on July 19, 2022 celebrating her arrival racked up more than 116,000 likes within two months6. On July 17, she was spotted in Frognerkilen harbor near central Oslo, roughly 1,200 miles south of Svalbard where scientists believe she originated2.

The Oslo appearance turned into a public safety headache. Kathrine Ryeng of Norway's Institute of Marine Research told NBC News that Freya climbed empty boats because they reminded her of Arctic ice floes2. Officials asked tourists to keep their distance, but crowds ignored the warnings, swimming with her, throwing objects, and beckoning her toward shore for photos3. On one occasion, police had to evacuate a bathing area after she chased a woman into the water4. The Directorate of Fisheries initially said euthanasia was "out of the question" before reversing course6.

She was killed on the morning of August 14, 2022, in what the directorate described as a "humane" and "controlled" effort3. The backlash was immediate. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre defended the decision on public broadcaster NRK, saying it was "right" and that "sometimes we have to make unpopular decisions"4. A meme posted to Reddit's r/PoliticalCompassMemes on the day of her death picked up more than 2,600 upvotes within 24 hours6, while a viral tweet by @Unpop_Science calling her a "climate refugee" drew almost 7,500 likes in a day6.

How to Use This Meme

Freya The Walrus is more of a character and event meme than a template. Typical uses include reposting photos and clips of her sleeping on or sinking boats, sharing tribute posts marking the date of her death, and invoking her name in animal-welfare arguments where wildlife is killed for public safety reasons3. She is often paired with Harambe as shorthand for online outrage over the killing of a wild animal that people had gathered to watch6.

Cultural Impact

Within a week of her death, a Norwegian fundraiser to build a Freya statue in Oslo had drawn over $22,000 from more than 1,350 backers, blowing past its goal6. Organizers said the memorial was meant to remind future generations "that we cannot always kill and remove nature when it is 'in our way'"6. Her killing drew international news coverage from outlets including The Guardian, NBC News and BuzzFeed News4. An autopsy released to the press on September 1, 2022 by the Norwegian Veterinary Institute found she was in good health, and her skeleton was sent to the Natural History Museum in Oslo for storage rather than public display5.

Fun Facts

- Freya was named after the Norse goddess of beauty and love4.

- The first submarine she napped on was the Zr. Ms. Dolfijn, a Walrus-class vessel, a coincidence the Dutch navy itself pointed out1.

- Kathrine Ryeng, a Norwegian veterinary medicine scientist advising the fisheries directorate, described walruses as "potato sacks on a floating device, but like acrobats in water"2.

- Her necropsy found she was in good health and died instantly, with an empty stomach that offered no clues about her Oslo diet5.

- Her skeleton was donated to the Natural History Museum in Oslo, where it is stored but not put on public display5.

Derivatives & Variations

Reddit meme posted to r/PoliticalCompassMemes on August 14, 2022 mocking the decision to euthanize her, which drew more than 2,600 upvotes in a day[6]

Crowdfunded Freya memorial statue campaign in Oslo, which raised over $22,000 from 1,350+ backers by August 17, 2022[6]

Rune Aae's public Google map tracking Freya's North Sea travels, which circulated widely on social media[6]

The @Unpop_Science "climate refugee" tweet framing, which was picked up by other users to blame humans for her death[6]

Frequently Asked Questions