Month-old walrus rescued 4 miles inland: Watch him get 'round-the-clock' care and cuddles
A young walrus calf is receiving "round-the-clock care," including human cuddles, after it was rescued in an unusual area.
The male Pacific walrus calf, estimated to be about a month old, was rescued July 31 about four miles inland from the Beaufort Sea “a highly unusual location for a Pacific walrus," according to the Alaska SeaLife Center.
The Beaufort Sea is a marginal sea in the Arctic Ocean, located north of Alaska and Canada's Northwest Territories and the Yukon. The Pacific walruses' habitat is typically in the Bering and Chukchi seas and along the mainland coast and islands of Alaska and Russia, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
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Since its rescue and arrival to the Alaska SeaLife Center's facility in Seward on Aug. 1, video released by the facility shows the calf being bottle-fed and caressed by staff. The main concerns upon the calf's arrival were malnutrition, dehydration and a cloudy eye, which means it may have an infection.
Pacific walruses are highly tactile and social creatures, and receive “near-constant care from their mothers during the first two years of life,” the center said.
“To emulate this maternal closeness, round-the-clock 'cuddling' is being provided to ensure the calf remains calm and develops in a healthy manner. Calves tend to habituate quickly to human care,” the Alaska SeaLife Center said in a release.
The calf is currently not on public display, but he may be relocated to an area with public viewing as his condition improves.