walruses

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WWF Seeks 'Walrus Detectives'
WWF Seeks 'Walrus Detectives'
Jan 18, 2023 3:21 PM CST

WWF Seeks 'Walrus Detectives'

Volunteers will be tasked with counting walruses in satellite images

(Newser) - The World Wildlife Fund and Britain's national polar research institute are seeking "walrus detectives"—meaning people who can search for walruses in satellite images from the Arctic, not marine mammals with an instinct for detection. Volunteers in the Walrus From Space project will be tasked with counting...

After Walrus Shows Up, Town Calls Off Fireworks

Officials in Scarborough, England didn't want to distress rare visitor

(Newser) - A town in northeast England called off its New Year's Eve fireworks to avoid distressing a very unusual visitor—Thor, a walrus that arrived Friday night. "We are really disappointed that we've had to cancel the fireworks but the welfare of the walrus has to take precedence,...

Officials Urge Norwegians to Stay Away From Walrus
Freya the Walrus
Euthanized
UPDATED
Aug 15, 2022 12:11 AM CDT

Freya the Walrus Euthanized

Her wellbeing and human wellbeing were both determined to be in danger

(Newser) - Update: The tragic ending authorities had warned of came to pass for Freya the walrus when she was euthanized early Sunday. The decision was made after authorities "concluded that we could not guarantee the wellbeing of the animal by any of the means available," said a Norway fisheries...

Freya the Walrus Is Sinking Boats, Winning Hearts

Just call it the 'Summer of Freya'

(Newser) - Remember when the world couldn't get enough of April the giraffe ? There's a new female creature that's capturing hearts and minds—one who is a whole lot shorter and far more portly. It's the "Summer of Freya," declares Gizmodo , a reference to the...

In Ireland, a Sight Never Before Seen
In Ireland, a Sight 
Never Before Seen
in case you missed it
Mar 20, 2021 9:35 AM CDT

In Ireland, a Sight Never Before Seen

Walrus turns up on the southwestern coast

(Newser) - Ireland has recorded its first known sighting of a walrus, and it may be the result of a badly timed nap. A father and daughter spotted the creature over the weekend on the rocks off Valentia Island on the southwestern coast, reports the Irish Independent . The Irish Whale and Dolphin...

Vikings' Collapse Had a Lot to Do With Walruses
Vikings' Collapse Had a
Lot to Do With Walruses
in case you missed it
Jan 11, 2020 2:30 PM CST

Vikings' Collapse Had a Lot to Do With Walruses

Decline in walrus ivory left Vikings with little to trade: researchers

(Newser) - The Vikings' disappearance from Greenland in the 15th century came not in an epic battle but with a decline in the walrus ivory trade, according to researchers, who may have cracked "one of history's big mysteries," per Newsweek . Walrus ivory was a hot commodity in medieval Europe....

Russian Navy Boat Gets Sunk by Angry Mammal

Seems a walrus was protecting her cubs

(Newser) - A Russian Navy vessel was apparently sunk last week by an ill-tempered walrus, CBS News reports. Researchers on an Arctic tugboat had boarded a rubber landing craft for shore when the marine mammal attacked. "During the landing at Cape Heller, a group of researchers had to flee from a...

Inside the Distressing Walrus Scene on Netflix's Our Planet
Why Everyone
Is Talking About a
Walrus Scene on Netflix
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 14, 2019 5:00 PM CDT

Why Everyone Is Talking About a Walrus Scene on Netflix

It's found in the second episode of 'Our Planet'

(Newser) - Our Planet clocks in at eight episodes, but it's a single scene from the newly released Netflix documentary series narrated by David Attenborough that's making waves. It's found in Episode two, "Frozen Worlds," and it involves hundreds of walruses falling to their deaths. The series...

Walruses Show Up Early in Alaska as Ice Recedes

It's the earliest 'haulout' ever

(Newser) - Sign of the times? Several hundred Pacific walruses began amassing on an island off Alaska’s northwest coast in the first week of August in what wildlife officials say is the earliest date yet for their annual "haulout." The culprit appears to be shrinking Arctic ice. Walruses tend...

CDC Advises Against Eating Rare Walrus

In case you were thinking about doing so

(Newser) - Advice from the CDC: Cook your walrus well before eating it. The agency has issued an official warning that eating rare walrus can lead to trichinellosis, also known as trichinosis, the Consumerist reports. The warning may not mean much to most residents of the contiguous US, but it comes after...

Walrus 'Hug' Kills 2 at Wildlife Park

Tourist fell from open walkway: reports

(Newser) - A tourist and trainer have died after a walrus "hug" at a wildlife park in China. A male tourist from northern China was reportedly taking videos of a walrus from a narrow walkway at Xixiajou Wildlife Park in Shandong Province when he accidentally fell in the walrus pool. A...

25 Walruses Found Dead on Beach

Some were missing heads and tusks in Alaska

(Newser) - The US Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating the deaths of 25 Pacific walruses found on an isolated northwest Alaska beach. A person connected to an Air Force radar station in the remote area spotted the animals and notified the agency this week. The animals included 12 pups, and some...

Greenland's Vikings Weren't Farmers, They Were Walrus Hunters

They apparently had a lucrative ivory trade going on: researchers

(Newser) - For a long time, scientists wondered why Vikings settled in Greenland as farmers, since livestock doesn't thrive there and the growing season is truncated, notes Hakai Magazine . But while speculation as to why they eventually abandoned the island territory range from climate change to soil erosion , researchers now think...

Planes Rerouted to Prevent Walrus Stampede

FAA warns media, gawkers to stay away, not spook beached animals

(Newser) - Aircraft, media, and curious folks in general have been instructed to stay far away from the 35,000 walruses crammed onto an Alaskan beach to prevent the easily spooked animals from stampeding each other to death, the Guardian reports. "When they lose their sea ice habitat and come ashore...

Why 35K Walruses Crowded Onto This Beach

There's no ice in the Chukchi Sea for them to rest on

(Newser) - What a loss of sea ice looks like: an estimated 35,000 walruses, crowded on one stretch of Alaskan beach. Images taken on Saturday via plane as part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's annual marine animal survey capture just that. The enormous grouping of the mammals near...

10K Walruses Huddle as Sea Ice Melts

Arctic warming has taken away their natural home

(Newser) - A sad sight in the Arctic: About 10,000 Pacific walruses have gathered on a remote island because their sea ice is melting away, National Geographic reports. Typically the giant mammals enjoy "hauling out" to rest or warm their bodies on floating ice, but Arctic warming has been eroding...

Moms Attack Skittles for 'Bestiality' Ad

That walrus is no boyfriend, squawks One Million Moms

(Newser) - The morality brigade of One Million Moms has its tusks in a twist over a new Skittles ad. Now they're claiming the colorful candy company is promoting ... bestiality, reports Gawker . Maybe that's because a new ad features a young woman apparently kissing a walrus. "What are you...

Mystery Disease Killing Alaskan Seals

Ringed seal outbreak puzzles biologists

(Newser) - A mysterious disease is killing seals along Alaska's Arctic coast, and officials fear it might spread to other countries—and other species. Scores of dead or severely weakened ringed seals with telltale skin lesions and hair loss have been found along the coastline over the last few months, Reuters...

Alaskans Plead Guilty to Trafficking in Walrus Ivory

They traded with native Eskimos, say authorities

(Newser) - Huge quantities of walrus tusks and a pair of polar bear hides were among the illegal goods sold by two Alaskans who have pleaded guilty to violating federal marine mammal laws. A third person is expected to plead guilty next week. Authorities say two of the three spent years traveling...

Walruses Short-Changed on Fed Protection

Endangered tuskers 'low on the totem pole'

(Newser) - The Interior Department has decided that walruses are endangered enough to warrant protection—but it's not going to give it to them. The threat to the Pacific walrus from global warming reducing Arctic sea ice is very real, officials say, but limited government resources mean protection will have to wait...

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