New York Aquarium Staff Must Come To Grips With Sudden Death Of Masturbating Walrus

Ayveq the masturbating walrus has died suddenly at age 14:

Ayveq, the walrus whose bizarre, though oddly compelling, masturbation rituals made him an international sensation at the New York Aquarium, has died. He was 14.

Though well-liked long before he discovered the habit that would make him a star, Ayveq’s frequent public self-gratification made him the Coney Island institution’s singular attraction.

“We are all still in shock about it,” Aquarium Director Jon Forrest Dohlin said. “He was an absolute delight. He had a magnetism and a charm that was totally his own. He loved people and he knew how to work a crowd and entertain guests.

“And himself,” Dohlin added. “He did have a raffish charm, no doubt about it.”

Ayveq The Masturbating Walrus, New York Aquarium, Coney Island, Brooklyn, October 20, 2007:

Location Scout: New York Aquarium.