Wally the Walrus appears to be closer to home than ever and on the last leg of his journey - after he was sighted at a pier in the southeastern town of Höfn in Hornafjörður in Iceland on Sunday.

The Arctic visitor has captured the hearts and imagination of wildlife lovers locally and around the world with his mammoth travels which have included visits to France, Spain and the Isles of Scilly, since first being spotted off Kerry in Ireland, on March 14, after it is believed he may have fallen asleep on an iceberg off Greenland which drifted to Valentia Island.

Wally then arrived in Pembrokeshire’s Broad Haven, before heading to Tenby that month, spending most of his days in the seaside town relaxing on the RNLI lifeboat station slipway, and splashing around in the sea by Castle Hill, in the seven weeks he spent in the coastla resort.

He was most recently spotted enjoying the last of the summer sunshine soaking up the rays on floating pontoon in the south west corner of Ireland at the end of August.

On September 19 the majestic animal attracted a lot of attention from the townspeople of Höfn during its visit, and according to the chief of police, Jón Garðar Bjarnason, the walrus was last seen at midnight.

“It seems to me that this isn’t a very old walrus, because its teeth aren’t that big,” speculated Jón Garðar to the local press. He said that another walrus had appeared some years ago in Höfn, but weren’t regular visitors in Iceland anymore.

According to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group that had been monitoring Wally during his time in West Cork the images captured suggest that ‘this is likely to be the same walrus aka Wally that was last seen in Crookhaven on August 30’.

“We are awaiting further images that may help us put this matter beyond doubt, but images thus far confirm a similar aged animal based on tusk length, with the reliable pale blemish on its left flipper,” stated IWDG on their website.

“Walrus sightings in Icelandic waters are rare and in a month of IWDG circumnavigating the Land of Fire and Ice on RV Celtic Mist in 2018, none were seen, although one was photographed in the Faroe Islands on the return leg to Ireland.

“If, as we think is likely, this is the same walrus, then this is very good news indeed, as its current location is a mere 300 km from the Arctic Circle, which runs along the very northern tip of Iceland.

“It will have travelled a distance of between 1,500-1,750 km from SW Ireland to SE Iceland, depending on whether it navigated along the most direct open-water route or remained closer to the shore, travelling up along the Scottish coast and Faroe Islands.

“Either way it’s an impressive journey back north and the timing and distance involved suggest it travelled 80km a day travel, resulting in an average speed of c3.3 km per hour, which is consistent with the scientific literature.

“Our colleague Sean O’ Callaghan who is following up on the story with IWDG contacts in Iceland says that it left Höfn last night and there have been no further sightings of it today (Monday), so perhaps it’s already on the last leg back to the Arctic region; although the nearest suitable walrus habitat would be a further 500km to the northwest in Eastern Greenland.

“There are lots of unanswered questions surrounding its exact route on this penultimate leg, and it’s surprising there were no confirmed sightings records between Crookhaven and Höfn, as it likely “hauled out” to rest along the Irish West coast or Scotland’s Western Isles, and a few additional dots on maps would increase our confidence as to its likley route back north.

“But the fact that it was so well documented over six months, through six countries, covering a distance of upwards of 5,000 km, can only be described as triumph for Citizen Science and a good example of the resilience of wildlife!” they added.

On Monday, the Seal Rescue Ireland group stated that after conferring and comparing photos with their friends at British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), it was confirmed that the walrus is indeed Wally!

“After 22 days with no confirmed sightings, we were starting to lose hope of ever seeing the young, wandering walrus again,” they stated in a post on social media.

“However, we just received notice that a similar-looking walrus was sighted yesterday in Iceland, over 900 km away from Wally's last known location in West Cork.”

They went onto state that ‘similar scars’ on the front of both front flippers in one image confirmed that it was Wally.

“We are absolutely over the moon that he is not only still alive and well, but he is well on his way home to the Arctic,” they continued.

“He was seen swimming back out to sea last night (and even managed to avoid sinking any boats while he was there)!

“We are so grateful to the many members of the public who have shown support and love for this walrus by giving him a safe place to rest and gather his strength while visiting our shores ahead of this magnificent journey.

“Thanks to his ability to feed and rest, he has successfully made the long stretch and will hopefully reunite with his own kind again soon. Please always remember to give wildlife space, and put their safety and welfare first!

“This success is a great opportunity to highlight the immense pressures that our marine mammals face on a daily basis from human disturbance.

“As climate change impacts wildlife habitat, many species are under an ever-increasing threat and the least we can do is avoid intentionally making their lives even more difficult.”