COPENHAGEN, Denmark — (AP) — A personal fundraising marketing campaign is underway in Norway to erect a statue of a walrus that drew crowds of spectators however was euthanized Sunday after authorities concluded the large marine mammal posed a danger to people.

Identified affectionately to followers as Freya, the walrus turned a well-liked attraction within the Oslo Fjord in current weeks regardless of warnings from officers that individuals ought to chorus from getting shut and posing for photos with the animal.

“The capturing of Freya has a robust unfavorable sign impact that we in Norway, and particularly Oslo, are usually not in a position to present residing house for wild animals,” the residents’ group behind the net fundraising drive mentioned in its enchantment.

“By erecting a statue of the image Freya rapidly turned, we are going to at all times remind ourselves (and future generations) that we can’t or shouldn’t at all times kill and take away nature when it’s ‘in the way in which,’” the enchantment continues.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the group has raised 156,409 kroner ($16,143), in line with the fundraising web site. Organizers mentioned in the event that they fail with the undertaking, the funds would go to the native chapter of World Wildlife Fund.

Walruses are a protected species, and as just lately as final month, officers mentioned they hoped Freya would go away of her personal accord and that euthanasia can be a final resort. The top of Norway’s Directorate of Fisheries mentioned Sunday that they thought of shifting the animal elsewhere however concluded it wasn’t a viable possibility.

Atlantic walruses usually dwell within the Arctic. It’s uncommon however not extraordinary for them to journey into the North and Baltic Seas. One other walrus, nicknamed Wally, was seen final yr on seashores and even a lifeboat dock in Wales and elsewhere.

Freya favored to clamber on high of small boats, damaging them.

The Norwegian Veterinary Institute mentioned Tuesday that it had acquired the physique of the 600-kilogram (1,320-pound) feminine walrus and would perform a necropsy for scientific functions.

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