Finland's most famous walrus, which has recently made headlines after making an appearance on the south coast, has again lumbered onto land - this time in the yard of a home in Kotka.

The home's occupants notified rescue services on Tuesday morning about a walrus resting in their backyard, located along the Nummenjoki river, about 150 metres inland.

Kymenlaakso region rescue workers, two veterinarians and police officers were dispatched to the scene.

As was discussed in Hamina last week when the animal made its first public appearance in the country, authorities in Kotka debated on Tuesday whether the walrus should be anaesthetised and taken to Helsinki's Korkeasaari Zoo.

Ultimately, officials decided to let the marine mammal rest peacefully in the hopes that she would return to the sea on her own.

"It would have been easy to move the animal to Korkeasaari, now that it is here on the ground, but drugging it could be risky because we don't know how stressed it was by Sunday's incident [with a fishing net]," Kymenlaakso fire chief, Juha Säämänen, told Yle.

That incident involved the female walrus entangling herself into a fyke, a large bag-shaped net, causing a Kotka fisherman to lose more than an estimated 10,000 euros worth of gear.

Korkeasaari Zoo's Director of Animal Care and Conservation, Nina Trontti, confirmed that there were no immediate plans to relocate the animal to the zoo.

"The best alternative now is to allow the animal to rest adequately and then be able to take itself to more open waters," she told Yle, explaining that the animals sleep a good part of the day.

"When the walrus does start moving, people around the scene should make sure that it heads towards the water and not further onto land," Trontti said, adding that if the animal was in poor condition a decision could be made to transport it to the zoo.

"As long as it seems healthy and in good condition, I think it has the right to have a bit of an adventure. It would be a different situation if it was in bad shape," she said.

News of a walrus in someone's backyard piqued the interest of nearby residents, including Aku Lehvä, who was one of the first to see the animal in the neighbour's garden.

"We got as close as we dared. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes," Lehvä told Yle.

Meanwhile, Meeri Vääränen said her mother woke her to tell her about the unusual visit.

"We saw the walrus from about 50 metres away," she said, adding that she will likely never forget the experience.