Photo: Walrus pull out in huge numbers in Alaska

This photo taken last week by the Aerial Surveys of Arctic Marine Mammals Project and obtained by the WWF, shows up to 4,000 walruses that have hauled out along the coast near Point Lay, Alaska. No sea ice was observed in the area surveyed. Once the ice disappears from the feeding areas in late summer or early fall, the walruses must swim long distances to reach the Russian and Alaskan shorelines where conditions are far less favorable and more hazardous than on the ice. “The dramatic picture of walruses massing onshore is worth a thousand charts and graphs, reminding us that climate change is profoundly disrupting life on an epic scale in the fragile Arctic,” said Lou Leonard, vice-president of climate change programs for WWF.