Surprisingly enough, 35,000 walruses of Alaska have suddenly appeared at the shores of the huge state, as the sea mammals have taken the beaches after finding no ice in their natural habitat. The strange sight of 35,000 walruses in Alaska isn't new, as this is the sixth time in the last eight years that this phenomenon has happened, The Washington Post writes.
The 35,000 walruses in Alaska have found solace in the state's beaches after their natural habitats have become endangered due to the most well-known version of climate change: global warming.
In a statement regarding the 35,000 walruses in Alaska, the United States Geological Survey has stated: "Summer sea ice is retreating far north of the shallow continental shelf waters of the Chukchi Sea in U.S. and Russian waters, a condition that did not occur a decade ago. To keep up with their normal resting periods between feeding bouts to the seafloor, walruses have simply hauled out onto shore."
The phenomenon of the 35,000 walruses in Alaska is a shock in itself: while walruses are indeed able to haul out on shore using their tusks, they don't really prefer dry land and are better built for ice. However, as sea ice melts due to global warming (and only the most northern part of the Arctic is still frozen, too far for the walruses to swim to), the animals were forced to stay in the Alaska shores.
The 35,000 walruses in Alaska are only part of an ongoing trend, as a series of similar phenomena has seen wildlife affected by the climate change, particularly the loss of summer sea ice, according to Newsweek. The ice's low point this year was among the smallest recorded (6th smallest, to be more specific) since National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researchers began monitoring the area in 1979.
