THE WALRUS IN BRITISH WATERS 83 
Here reference may be made to the well-authenticated 
presence of a Walrus so far south as the estuary of the 
Severn, for the record seems to have escaped the notice of 
previous writers, and as it occurs in an old journal not easily 
accessible, may be repeated for future reference. I quote, 
from a copy of The Edinburgh Journal of Natural Flrstory 
(vol. ii, July 1839, p. 22), which recently came into my 
hands, a paragraph from the Gloucester Journal; “ About a 
fortnight since a strange large animal was observed on the 
sands of the Severn at Putton, and, as a man went towards 
it, it retreated towards the water. This emboldened the 
pursuer, and he soon approached very near to the animal, 
upon which it turned round and exhibited a countenance 
of such apparently extraordinary ferocity and disposition to 
do battle, that the man was glad in his turn to take to 
flight with pretty considerable speed. He then procured a 
large duck gun with a man to accompany him, and to lend 
his shoulder to support the gun while he took aim, and by 
this means the strange visitant was very soon dispatched. 
On examination it turned out to be a Walrus or Morse, 
a well-known animal of the seal tribe in the Polar Seas, 
but which very seldom, we believe, is seen in these latitudes. 
It was quite young, as it measured only about 7 or 8 feet 
in length, while the average length of a full-grown Walrus 
is from 12 to 16 feet, and some have even measured 20 feet. 
After its death, it was, we understand, conveyed to Berkeley 
Castle, where its tusks, etc., will probably be added to the 
other trophies of the chase which are preserved in that 
ancient baronial fortress.” 
Seal-hunting and British Vusits of the Walrus-——An 
analysis of the distribution in time of the appearances of 
the Walrus shows clearly that the visits are less frequent 
than they used to be. This deficiency cannot be attributed 
to any lack of observation in the later years, for facilities 
for observation and record, and the acuteness of observers, 
such as lighthouse-keepers, are greater than they were 
over half a century ago. Do the numbers themselves give 
any hint as to the cause of the decrease? 
