Northwestern Alaska has a large, growing walrus problem, as thousands of the animals are finding their way to shore due to the loss of sea ice in the Pacific Ocean.
According to the Associated Press, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) photographed an estimated 35,000 walrus this weekend on a beach about five miles north of Point Lay. Spokeswoman Julie Speegle said the large group of animals was photographed as part of the NOAA's annual arctic marine mammal aerial survey.
Walrus were first noticed broaching the shore on Sept. 13, with some moving in and out of the water since. Observers also noticed dozens of carcasses and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has said they will send investigators to determine how the animals died.
Losing sea ice can be problematic for walrus, who dive from it when hunting for food and use it for their females to give birth. Walrus are not able to swim indefinitely and rely on sea ice to rest, using their tusks to dig into the surface and pull themselves up.
"It's another remarkable sign of the dramatic environmental conditions changing as the result of sea ice loss," Margaret Williams, managing director of the World Wildlife Fund's Arctic program, told the AP. "The walruses are telling us what the polar bears have told us and what many indigenous people have told us in the high Arctic, and that is that the Arctic environment is changing extremely rapidly and it is time for the rest of the world to take notice and also to take action to address the root causes of climate change."
Younger, smaller animals quickly became susceptible to stampeding once the walrus came out of the water in such large numbers. That has not been confirmed as the animals' cause of death, but an investigation is expected to confirm that speculation.
