Who is the Walrus?
Posted by E.G.D. on October 5, 2011
I am! Um… well, no, I’m not, actually, but I am a Beatles fan, so I’m sure you’ll excuse me the reference. In any case, welcome to Wednesday Wildlife! Today, for reasons unknown, I was thinking about walruses, so I wandered onto the How Stuff Works website (it’s one of the Discovery company’s many projects), and I perused their Walrus section. Lo and Behold, walruses count as beach wildlife in Alaska at this time of year! According to news reports, they arrived on Alaska’s beaches in early August (which is a lot earlier than the previous several years), but seeing as the walruses are still there, I feel this can still be valid in early October.
Walruses are awesome, and they are surprisingly interesting to read about. For instance, did you know that “Adult male walruses can weigh as much as 4,000 pounds,” or that “Eskimos in some villages traditionally base their lifestyle on walrus“ in much the same way great plains natives did with the American buffalo? I didn’t until I went on my net-surf. I would have to say that if you want basic information about walruses, your absolute best bet really is How Stuff Works, but both of the quotes above were discovered through a process of clicking links on other pages.
Though I do not believe I would enjoy sharing a beach with multiple thousands of walruses, I do think I would like to see them someday, preferably from a distance. To this end, I found some information on TravelAlaska.com, which states: “The Pacific variety are … numerous (in Alaska), and are found in the Bering and Chuckchi seas, from Bristol Bay in Southwest Alaska to Point Barrow in the Far North,” and the site also mentions that they’re easier to encounter in the summer months (though they’re apparently spottable year-round). I will have to take the time to hit an Alaskan beach in late August, someday!
I hope you enjoy the info, and for those of you in viewing-range of an Alaskan beach today, lucky you! -E.G.D.
cindy knoke said
So handsome!
Jody said
🙂