Two hunters were walking along a beach in Alaska’s northernmost city of Utqiagvik when they came across an injured walrus calf struggling to move on the cold sand.
By Cathy Free
The 165-pound pup had scrapes across her wrinkly skin and was dehydrated, so the hunters called for help. Wildlife authorities flew the calf 800 miles to the Alaska SeaLife Center that day in July, said Carrie Goertz, a veterinarian and director of animal health at the center.
Goertz said the calf, a female, was just a week or two old and was badly malnourished. A Pacific walrus herd had been spotted on the Utqiagvik beach several days earlier, she said, so it appeared the pup had either been abandoned or something happened to her mother.
The calf wouldn’t have survived long on the beach by herself because she needed protection from predators and a regular supply of her mother’s high-fat milk, Goertz said.
“She had lots of cuts and abrasions, but it’s hard to know exactly what happened,” she said. “The cuts could have come from other animals, but they could also have come from the rocks on the beach.”
The rescue workers knew they needed to work quickly.
The sweet-faced pup reminded workers of the sad situation they had faced a year before, when another orphaned Pacific walrus pup was found by an oil worker four miles from the ocean on the North Slope tundra.
Goertz and her team had worked around-the-clock — including 24/7 cuddling — to save the pup’s life, but his injuries were extensive and he died of complications from malnutrition.
They hoped this case would be different.
Since July 22, the calf — who still does not have a name — has made impressive progress, said Goertz, noting that the walrus now weighs almost 210 pounds and loves to snuggle up next to her care providers and drink formula from a bottle every four hours. Her abrasions have healed for the most part, she said.
Still, the pup requires someone to be with her round-the-clock to act as a “surrogate mother,” she said.
A team of walrus experts from around the country is helping with the pup’s care, including workers from SeaWorld, the Indianapolis Zoo, and Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Wash., Goertz said.
“This is definitely a team effort, with dozens of people helping out,” she said. “Everyone finds it very rewarding to care for her — she’s very tactile and affectionate, kind of like a ginormous puppy.”
Denise Higginbotham, a zoological specialist from SeaWorld in San Diego, is among those who flew in to help administer food and medication.
“I was there for the first two weeks of her care, and I found her to be a sassy lady, which is what we like to see in our patients,” Higginbotham said. “It’s overwhelming how cute she is. She warmed up immediately to anyone who cozied up next to her.”
Stimulation is important for young walruses, because they are social animals that huddle in large groups to stay warm in the wild, she said.
An adult female walrus can weigh about 2,700 pounds when fully grown, and the rescued pup is well on her way, gaining about 45 pounds since her rescue, Goertz said.
In the wild, female walruses use sea ice as a resting place for their young while they launch foraging dives for snails and clams on the ocean floor. The loss of Arctic sea ice to global warming is the greatest threat to the species, according to the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center.
Goertz said the Alaska SeaLife Center has cared for only 11 walrus calves since the facility opened in 1998.
“The effort of caring for the calf last year was physically and emotionally exhausting — he had one serious decline after another,” she said. “The calf we have now is doing much better. She’s gaining weight, she’s swimming and is much more active.”
The pup is under close monitoring and has progressed enough to be allowed some alone time for short periods, Goertz said.
Otherwise, the whiskered youngster is fed and cuddled by veterinary staff members to emulate the closeness she would have felt with her mother. Because she has become habituated to human care, Goertz said the walrus cannot be released into the wild and will instead be sent to a wildlife center or zoo somewhere in the United States.
“We don’t have a name for her yet, but we’re working on that,” she said.
Goertz said it’s been a pleasure to care for the wrinkly-skinned pup.
“There were a few stressful days in the beginning while we hoped we were meeting her needs, but she’s definitely on the upswing,” she said. “And, of course, she’s adorable. It’s really satisfying to watch her suck down a whole bottle, then take a nap.”
