In Absence Of Ice, Record 35,000 Walrus Come Ashore At One NW Alaska Beach

[hatrack]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Pacific walrus that can't find sea ice for resting in Arctic waters are coming ashore in record numbers on a beach in northwest Alaska. An estimated 35,000 walrus were photographed Saturday about 5 miles north of Point Lay, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Point Lay is an Inupiat Eskimo village 300 miles southwest of Barrow and 700 miles northwest of Anchorage.

The enormous gathering was spotted during NOAA's annual arctic marine mammal aerial survey, spokeswoman Julie Speegle said by email. The survey is conducted with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the agency that oversees offshore lease sales.

Andrea Medeiros, spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said walrus were first spotted Sept. 13 and have been moving on and off shore. Observers last week saw about 50 carcasses on the beach from animals that may have been killed in a stampede, and the agency was assembly a necropsy team to determine their cause of death.

EDIT

http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/35-000-walrus-come-ashore-in-northwest-Alaska-5791705.php

[mopinko]

1. oh the irony

"The survey is conducted with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the agency that oversees offshore lease sales. "

[Nihil]

4. And, consequently, expect the report to be a whitewash of the extent of the problem. (n/t)

[logosoco]

2. Somehow i imagine that even seeing this huge herd of big animals having to adapt to

environmental changes due to global warming will still not convince some people that climate change is a thing.

[blkmusclmachine]

3. Sad. Don't expect Washington to do anything, either. DC is owned by the pollutors.

[brooklynite]

5. UPDATE-US reroutes flights around Alaska beach in attempt to avoid walrus stampede

The plight of thousands of walruses forced to crowd on to an Alaska beach because of disappearing sea ice has set off an all-out response from the US government to avoid a catastrophic stampede.

The Federal Aviation Authority has re-routed flights, and local communities have called on bush pilots to keep their distance in an effort to avoid setting off a panic that could see scores of walruses trampled to death, federal government scientists told reporters.

Curiosity seekers and the media have also been asked to stay away.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/01/walrus-alaska-beach-trampled-death