Ecological tragedy ... scientists have blamed global warming for the deaths of about 4000 walruses this year in stampedes after sea ice disappeared.
Photo: AP
December 16, 2007
THOUSANDS of Pacific walruses above the Arctic Circle were killed in stampedes this year after the disappearance of sea ice caused them to crowd onto the shoreline in huge numbers, it was revealed yesterday.
Many of the youngest and weakest animals, mostly calves born in the spring, were crushed. Scientists blamed the mass deaths on global warming.
The deaths took place during the late northern summer and autumn on the Russian side of the Bering Strait, which separates Alaska from Russia. "It was a pretty sobering year - tough on walruses," said Joel Garlach-Miller, a walrus expert for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Unlike seals, walruses cannot swim indefinitely. They typically clamber onto the sea ice to rest, or haul themselves onto land.
But ice disappeared in the Chukchi Sea this year because of warm summer weather, ocean currents and persistent eastern winds, Mr Garlach-Miller said.
As a result, walruses came ashore earlier and stayed longer, congregating in extremely high numbers, with herds as big as 40,000 at Point Shmidt, a spot that had not been used by walruses as a "haulout" place for a century, scientists said.
Walruses are vulnerable to stampedes when they gather in such large numbers. The appearance of a polar bear, a hunter or a low-flying airplane can send them rushing into the water.
