Harju said that due to its long tusks, she guessed that it was an older walrus, adding that the animal was calm during the hour that she watched it lay on the beach.
The eyewitness, who first heard the animal splashing by the southeastern coast, said she couldn't believe her eyes.
Sixty-three endangered Saimaa ringed seal pups were found during the early spring count carried out by forestry workers and volunteers.
Recent heavy snowfall and large drifts have created ideal conditions for the dens where the endangered Saimaa ringed seal raise their young, and a record number of pups may be born this year. The freshwater Saimaa ringed seal is one of the most endangered seal species in the world.
Heavy snows over the weekend are likely to have saved up to half of the rare, endangered Saimaa seal pups being born this winter season from death by exposure or from predators.
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