A school in Scarborough has received dozens of admissions enquiries from abroad after a walrus visited the town, a councillor has said.
The mammal, known as Thor, arrived in Scarborough on 30 December and his antics attracted worldwide coverage.
Scarborough College, an independent school, had since had more than 40 international queries from families who saw the town on TV, a meeting heard.
Council leader Steve Siddons said that "any publicity is good publicity".
Scarborough's New Year's Eve fireworks display was cancelled because of concerns for Thor's welfare after he arrived in the harbour.
Councillor Guy Smith said the Arctic animal had created "tremendous publicity" for the town.
The fee-paying Scarborough College had since received enquiries from all over the world from people who had "been really taken in with it all and they want to bring their children to be educated here", he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Siddons said he had been emailed by people from as far away as the US and Australia who wanted to find out more about the walrus.
"Of all the things we have done in this borough over the last few years, I never really expected the appearance of a walrus to overtake all the great work that has been done," he said.
"But nevertheless, as they say, any publicity is good publicity."
A Scarborough College spokesperson said they could not comment on the admissions enquiries, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
They said that many of their current international students saw the walrus on the news in their own countries during the school holidays.
"As Scarborough isn't often world news, this was quite a nice thing to happen over Christmas, while our overseas students were home," they added.
Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.
New Year fireworks cancelled to protect walrus
Rare walrus sighting draws huge crowds to harbour
Poor behaviour from some walrus visitors – report
Arctic walrus returns to the sea in Scarborough
Local Democracy Reporting Service
Stray Defence Association says attempt to classify cherished parkland as 'common land' risks opening can of worms
Curtis Turpin and Adam Hudson guilty York murder
Most Welcoming Destinations on Earth 2023: York named among most welcoming places to visit on Earth by travel experts
Cycling in York: Sara Robin's tips on cycling in comfort
Travelodge budget-luxe hotel upgrades: Full list of 65 hotels given a redesign and how to book
New council will ' protect services and tackle financial black hole'
Nine Palestinians killed in Israeli raid in Jenin
Missiles hit Ukraine after West's offer of tanks
Why number of US mass shootings has risen sharply
Buying concert tickets can be hell. Here's how to fix it
Britain, Spain, Singapore? Gibraltar mulls its future
Why young Aussies are shunning their national holiday
Subscription-based bike hire schemes on a roll
What difference will the tanks for Ukraine make?
Is UK being left behind in climate investment battle?
Can these rocks really power light bulbs?
A simple guide to the US classified documents saga
The simple error that 16% of us make
Gen Z's latest surprising obsession
A return to old-school Canadian glamour
© 2023 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
