It’s the perfect gift(?) for the wine-loving walrus enthusiast… In keeping with the odd associations theme, this was found in a Christmas shop at a pumpkin patch.. Yay for mash-ups.
USGS Walrus Haul Out Info, Videos and Tracking Map
This one’s overdue – my friend Kevin, who works for the NASA Earth Observatory, turned me on to the continually developing info on the USGS site related to the huge Pacific Walrus haul-out last fall. You may remember this, if you keep up with walrus news, which of course you do! I posted about it here. Disappearing sea ice continues to be a huge threat to the walrus.
USGS tagged many of the walruses during the haul out and information about this project is here, along with a video showing more walruses than you have ever seen. Check  it out – click here to go to the USGS page.
Various links associated with this are here at the USGS Alaska Science Center walrus resource page.
The USGS Alaksa Science Center maintains an animated tracking map of the tagged walruses. From their site…
Researchers attached satellite radio-tags on 40 walruses in the northern Chukchi Sea in mid-July and on 34 walruses on the coast of northwest Alaska in late August. Russian colleagues will soon deploy additional tags on walruses on Russian shores of the Chukchi Sea. Tracking data from this study are intended to help describe walrus movements, foraging areas, and sea ice habitats in the Chukchi Sea and the Chukchi Sea oil lease sale planning area and to provide insights on walrus foraging and movements during ice minimum conditions in summer.
Check out the map at this page:Â http://alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/walrus/2011animation_Norseman.html
Satellite Tracking Walrus in the Pechora Sea
We post very few articles about the Atlantic Walrus, so this one caught my eye. The World Wildlife Fund is using satellite imagery to track a small population of Altlantic Walrus in the Pechora Sea north of Russia. The walrus population is growing, but so is oil drilling activity in this sea.
The success of deciphering walruses with the help of satellite images, along with field-studies, will allow environmentalists and scientists to quickly get an idea about the population. That will help us to develop measures for preservation in an area of booming industrial activities, says Alexey Knizhnikov with the WWF in Moscow.
Satellites to Track Walrus:Â http://www.barentsobserver.com/satellites-to-track-walrus.4991333-16176.html. Is it noted that the program is planned to expand in 2012 to include more walrus populations throughout the Russian Arctic.
There is a link to the satellite image here  – but the site is in Russian. More info is at the WWF, but I can’t find the page in English. Here’s a link to the Russian page http://www.wwf.ru/resources/news/article/8947.
Using Google Translate, the page text is:
Satellite imagery – a real breakthrough in the study of Atlantic walrus in the Barents Sea
Today, the Day of the Walrus, experts summarized the study and protection of walruses per year, assessed the threat of new industrial projects in their habitat, and discussed a new way to protect them – satellite monitoring.
The main purpose of this meeting an expert advisory group – to develop new measures to minimize threats to walrus of industrial projects in the Arctic. This year, the date of the meeting of expert group took place at the International Day of the walrus – a new holiday, which WWF has established jointly with the marine mammals in 2008.
Summer satellite imagery made ​​it possible to track the distribution and numbers of walruses on shore haul out. For example, on the island of Matveev (cluster Nenets reserve) found a rookery of 200 individuals, on the shore of the peninsula Lyamchin – 400. Experts are sure that we can speak about the effectiveness of the use of satellite information, not only for accurate detection haul animals, but also counting their number.
“ The success in deciphering the walrus by using satellite imagery, along with ground-based studies, will allow environmental and scientific organizations to quickly get basic information about the Red Book as a , – says Alexey Knizhnikov, WWF Russia expert. – This will help to develop measures for its preservation in a “ boom “Economic development in the region. Obtained valuable experience interpreting clusters walrus, which can be successfully applied to other species. “
Due to the success of the first pilot project and the results obtained, the organizers of the work (WWF Russia, the Council on Marine Mammals and RDC) plan, starting in 2012 to conduct a multiple-time imagery of walrus haul-out sites throughout the Russian Arctic – in addition to the Barents Sea to the Kara interpretation of walrus , East Siberian Sea and Laptev Sea. With this data, WWF plans to exactly one year to the next Day of the Walrus, walrus haul-out sites to map in the Russian Arctic, and to restore the legal status of protection zones not only walruses and other marine mammals.
Assessment of adverse effects and risks to the population of Atlantic walrus is becoming a priority due to the installation in August 2011 a huge platform Prirazlomnaya in the Pechora Sea. It will store up to 120 thousand tons of oil in the case of spills at sea can reach tens of thousands of tons of oil. But the view of environmental organizations such high ecological risks are unacceptable today.
Although a unique Russian subspecies of walrus is recognized, these efforts seem directed at a population of Atlantic Walrus. A small population to be sure, but it appears from the info to be growing.
Back to life….
Hi everyone – sorry things have gone quiet on here. I’ve been so swamped as my real job has been growing and growing and eating most if not all of my time. Sadly, the Walrus Web had paid the price. However – I am back. Hope you continue to follow the Walrus Web, I’ve got a bunch of posts queued up and with the long weekend, even I have time to update the blog! There will be action on the Walrus Web Twitter account as well, if you don’t follow us, please do: @walrusweb
Sorry for the break!
Walrus Pic of the Day: Smooshi wins Movember!
Movember is a charity event that involves growing mustaches for charity. Walrus trainer, Wipeout Canada champion and friend of the World Wide Walrus Web Phil Demers posted this picture of Smooshi on Twitter. Smooshi wins!
Follow Phil on Twitter: @walruswhisperer
Horribly Sad News: Walrus Calf at Six Flags Born Dead
Hopes that a live Pacific walrus would be born at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom were dashed Monday night when the eagerly anticipated calf was born dead, park officials said Tuesday.
How sad for the dedicated staff, and of course for all us hopeful walrus fans. Full story is at the San Jose Mercury News site, here: Walrus Calf stillborn at Vallejo’s Six Flags park.
Whither the Altantic Walrus?
If you’ve read this blog for any time at all, you’ll note that my posts are pretty much Pacific Walrus-centric. This may be because I live in Oregon, so Google is likely serving me up more “western” results, but the more likely explanation is that that Pacific Walrus is the more visible population. I’ve had a few more visits this week than usual to the site via the search term “atlantic walrus”, which has got me wondering about the state of our more easterly tusked friends. The Atlantic walrus is smaller than the Pacific walrus, both in size and population. You can Google it of course, and if you do, you’ll find this among the links:
The Atlantic walrus can be found in small pockets from northern Canada to Greenland, migrating south in the winter to avoid the encroaching ice. Â (link to complete article)
My Mom has been to Greenland, but only to the airport back in the day when one needed to stop in Greenland to refuel when flying from New York to Europe. I don’t think she saw any walrus in the terminal, but it WAS the 60’s so who knows….
I need to look in on the Atlantic Walrus and see what’s going on back there.
Walrus Heads on The Arctic Club, Seattle Washington
My son and I spent the day Saturday in Seattle, hanging out with my younger brother and his wife. Of course, the true walrus lover probably already knows where to find the walrus heads in the above picture. Yes, these are the sculptural head ringing the third floor of the Arctic Club building, downtown on Third and Cherry streets. Wikipedia tells us this:
The Arctic Building is a nine story building in Seattle, Washington located at the Northeast corner of Third Avenue and Cherry Street. The building was built for the Arctic Club in 1916 and was occupied by them from construction until the club’s dissolution in 1971. It is entirely faced with cream white terra cotta with submarine blue and orange-brown accents. It is particularly noted for the terra cotta walrus-heads lining the third floor of the building.
The Arctic Club building is on the national register of historic places, and if you want the full info about this interesting structure, check out the Arctic Club page at the National Park Service’s Site, here. The Arctic Club was founded by veterans of the Klondike gold rush and members were those with Klondike or Alaskan connections. The building itself though is much older, and was once a theater. According to the blog I’m linking to in the next paragraph, the tusks on the walrus sculptures may have once been actual ivory, although this may be an urban legend.
And to keep things honest, I didn’t take this picture today – I stole it from the excellent and very interesting “Stories in Stone” Blog by David B. Williams, here’s a link to the scene of my crime, and the full blog post is worth reading. http://stories-in-stone.blogspot.com/2010/10/lions-and-tigers-and-walruses-oh-my.html
I love these types of decorative accents you find in city architecture. Next time you spend a day in Seattle, go on a walrus hunt!
How I Learned to Love The Walrus, Kindle ebook by Beth Orsoff
How dedicated am I to finding new posts for the World Wide Walrus Web? Dedicated enough to download a self-professed “Chick Lit” eBook to my Kindle, that’s how. And not just download it, but to read it too? In fact, I really enjoyed it. Now, you don’t come across a romantic comedy set in a walrus sanctuary everyday (and if you’re reading this, Jennifer Aniston/Sandra Bullock you may want to contact Ms. Orsoff and option this story right about now…) so I suppose a little information about how the story is in order.
Here’s a synposis from Beth Orsoff’s website:
When Los Angeles publicist Sydney Green convinces her boss to let her produce a documentary for the Save the Walrus Foundation, the only one Sydney Green is interested in saving is herself. The walruses are merely a means to improving her career and her love life, and not necessarily in that order. Sydney would’ve killed the project the second she learned she’d be the one having to spend a month in rural Alaska if it had been for any other client. But for rising star and sometimes boyfriend Blake McKinley, no sacrifice is ever too great.
Yet a funny thing happens on the way to the Arctic. A gregarious walrus pup, a cantankerous scientist, an Australian sex goddess, a Star Wars obsessed six-year-old, and friends and nemeses both past and present rock Sydney Green’s well-ordered world. Soon Sydney must choose between doing what’s easy and doing what’s right
I enjoyed this ebook, it’s a great fun read for your next flight or beach trip when you need some escapist storytelling, and of course, you want your story to include a liberal helping of walrus! I must admit that the main walrus fact I took away from reading this book is that, um, walrus don’t smell very good. Like not good at all. OK, they smell really bad. So bad in fact, that I want to go to a walrus sanctuary like the one in the book and check it out for myself.
Beth Orsoff’s website is at http://www.bethorsoff.com and she has a facebook page as well. I should point out that I emailed Beth about doing this posting, and not only did she link to the World Wide Walrus Web from her Facebook page, but she sent me a very friendly reply. Makes me feel good about spending my three bucks on her book!
Here’s a link to buy the ebook on Amazon.com
How I Learned to Love the Walrus (an Arctic Romantic Comedy)
Here’s a link to a nice interview on ebookhighlights.com: Beth Orsoff on Walruses and love matters