A stray walrus that made headlines in Finland for several days before its death on Tuesday, is set to be displayed at the Finnish Museum of Natural History.

The walrus ventured onto dry land a number of times in Southeastern Finland and died while being transported to Korkeasaari Zoo's Wildlife Hospital.

The walrus' flesh and bones are to be moved to the museum after being examined by the Finnish Food Authority.

"The walrus will be preserved in the best possible way and will be available to researchers. It has attracted a lot of attention, which is why the animal will be conserved along with its story," zoology unit director Pasi Sihvonen said in a press release.

The public will have to wait between 6 to 12 months before they can see the walrus up close. Sihvonen said that the long wait is due to the fact that the process is all done by hand and involves long periods of drying the materials.

The walrus' visit was described as extremely rare by experts, as it most likely meant that the Arctic animal had swum hundreds of kilometres before losing its way.

Such incidents could become more common as warming global temperatures melt the ice cover female walruses usually give birth on, according to a report by Ilta-Sanomat.

Professor: Walrus most likely died of starvation

According to a Danish expert interviewed by the nature magazine Suomen Luonto, the individual was an underweight female over the age of 25, which is quite elderly for a walrus. He added that it was a complete mystery why she ended up in the Baltic, which only has a narrow opening to the Atlantic Ocean.

According to Antti Oksanen, a research professor at the Finnish Food Authority, the walrus most likely died of starvation.

On Thursday Oksanen told the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat that the walrus weighed only 600 kilogrammes. Her fat layer was almost non-existent and her stomach was empty.

18.23: Updated with Oksanen comments.

Edited at 9:17 on 22.7 to correct name of museum.