Walrus Wanderings

In the tale of The Walrus and the Carpenter in Lewis Carroll' sequel to "Alice in Wonderland", the walrus is to be found strolling across a sandy beach. Of course, in our world, walrus favor the cold ice floes of the Arctic. This great new animation from the United States Geological Service (USGS) let's you watch the movements of these tusked wonders around the frigid waters of the Bering Sea. Despite their size, it is not easy to monitor the movements of these creatures, as they spend 80% of their time underwater, foraging for surprisingly small prey items such as snails and clams. These walrus are carrying satellite transmitters which report on their location each hour and will help scientists understand more about where the food seems to be concentrated.

Much is told of the plight of the polar bear due to global climate change, but these changes likewise impact the habitat and ecosystem of many marine mammals who live or dine in the polar regions. Scientists are working hard to understand the changes in the Bering Sea, where they're already seeing the disappearance of some crab species as well as other anomalies. These and other factors have led to the Center for Biological Diversity filing a petition with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the Pacific walrus under the federal Endangered Species Act, due to threats from global warming and growing oil and gas development throughout its range.