Advertisement
YOU ARE HERE: LAT HomeCollectionsAlaska

Warming alters walrus behavior

Science in Brief

October 13, 2007|From Times Staff and Wire Reports

Thousands of walruses have appeared on Alaska's northwestern coast in what conservationists say is a dramatic consequence of global warming melting Arctic Sea ice.

The animals, especially breeding females, are usually found on the Arctic ice pack in summer and fall. But the lowest summer ice cap on record put sea ice far north of the outer continental shelf, the shallow, life-rich area beneath the Bering and Chukchi seas.


Advertisement

Walruses feed on clams, snails and other bottom dwellers. Given the choice between an ice platform above water deeper than their 630-foot diving range or the shore, many walruses chose Alaska's rocky beaches.

Los Angeles Times Articles
|