Monthly Meta for April

Hi new readers and returning visitors and thanks for all the traffic in this last month. Each month traffic to the WWWW has grown, and this month has been our best so far. I truly appreciate all the visits and appreciation that has been shown to this little blog by all of you. I enjoy maintaining it. And, with something like $1.15 in Adsense revenue for April (seriously), I can take the bus to my real job for free! Once. And not round trip. 🙂

Good thing I don’t expect to make money with this site!

Once again Chumley the walrus has ruled our search terms although lately I’ve gotten quite a lot of searches for “walrus sounds” which have led to my two posts one the subject. I notice a lot of searches for “Nereus” and related terms this month, so I suspect the Nereus episode of Growing Up… was on Animal Planet at some point.

Are you on Facebook? I haven’t yet built a Facebook page for the WWWW (it’s in progress though) but I was turned on to a great Facebook group called the Walrus Appreciation Society. Great content and good folks there. Check it out.

Are you following the @walrusweb on Twitter?

Thanks again, and there’s more great content coming in May.

OK, How about a papercraft walrus?

We’ve posted about an Origami Walrus, and now thanks to the Canadian Design Resource Website, we can add a papercraft walrus to the blog!

Note that this link eventually leads to an order form for the pattern/instructions which will run you $6 for the walrus, or $25 for the entire set of 5 animals (black bear, polar bear, buffalo, moose, walrus). The video at the link below is well worth watching.

Here’s a link to the Post.. http://www.canadiandesignresource.ca/officialgallery/symbols/canadian-animal-series-paper/

And our post about Donya Quick’s origami walrus gets a lot of traffic, so here’s that link as well: http://www.worldwidewalrusweb.com/2010/11/20/origami-walrus-why-not/

Mary River Mine: Another Challenge to Walrus Habitat

Obviously, walrus already face a number of challenges related to habitat and sea ice loss related to global climate change. But of course, development and human activity have just as great an impact on walrus. Here’s a recent example – Baffinland Iron Mine Co’s Mary River Mine. The proposed mine is to be located on Baffin Island and according to the recently files Environmental Imact Statement, mining activities will have an impact on local species including (Pacific) Walrus. The impact on species including Arctic Char,  Pacific Walrus and numerous other mammals is alleged to be “negligible,” “small in magnitude” and “fully reversible” – however the EIS concedes that “walrus habitat will change for the life of the Project as a result of the footprint of the dock structures”, which sounds like more than a “negligible” impact to this blogger.

The local paper, Nunatsiaq Online, has the full story at this link: “Nunavut’s Mary River mine could disrupt water, Arctic char and walrus”.

Robot Walruses On Display… Well, not really…

This exchange was posted on the Not Always Right blog

(I work in the walrus exhibit at the park answering questions about the animals. One of our four walruses has metal caps on her teeth because she scrapes them on the ground constantly.)

Guest: “Hey, I have a question about the walrus with the metal teeth.”

Me: “Ah, yes. That is an interesting story! See, she–”

Guest: “So, why is that walrus a robot?”

Me: “Sorry, what? A robot?”

Guest: “Yeah, that’s the only one with metal teeth. You can tell it is a robot. Why would you put a robot walrus in with the real ones? Or are they all robots?”

Yeeaaah….  Not Always Right (from the saying “The Customer is NOT Always Right) is a humor blog collected anecdotes from the world of customer service.

What does a Walrus Sound Like, 2.0

I originally posted on this topic some months ago here (What Does a Walrus Sound Like?) but I just now discovered a great new interview via NOVA Science Now that will really give you a complete picture of the types of sounds a walrus makes. This is from the walruses at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, CA – where you may be aware they are awaiting the imminent and very rare birth of a walrus calf! This is a great audio/photo feature.

The interactive feature is packed with GORGEOUS walrus photos, lots of info thanks to trainer Leah Coombs of Six Flags and Dr. Colleen Reichmuth of UC Santa Cruz. This is old, it’s from ’09 but it’s new to me, and likely new to you too. Sivuqaq and Uquq, two of the featured walruses, are today’s expectant parents!

Here’s the link to the interview (transcript and audio) over at PBS.com/Nova

And that’s what a Walrus sounds like.

Walrus pic of the day!

Oh man, check this out! I found this on a search engine, and I don’t know who to credit it to – if you know where this picture came from, let me know. According to the caption, this walrus is sleeping on a Russian submarine. Look that the SIZE of this guy!

The Delightful “Where’s Walrus?”

You may have heard of or seen this book, since it’s been plugged quite a bit online. Allow me to introduce you to “Where’s Walrus?” a delightful picture-only book by Stephen Savage. In this brightly-colored book, a walrus escapes from a City zoo to experience life in the big city – he eludes the zookeeper by donning various disguises and hats and inserting himself into scenes you may find familiar – including a subtle shout-out to Edward Hopper which I assume is intentional. I won’t tell you how Walrus’s adventure ends except to say that he returns to the zoo, triumphant! Mr. Savage’s illustrations are fun and simplistic in the best possible way – with bright colors and simple shapes that almost make the book feel like it could have been created with cut paper or on one of those felt boards. It’s a great style and perfect for this short, wordless adventure. This is one of those great books that a small child will pick up over and over and find new things in the illustrations each time. This book deserves all the accolades that it’s been getting.

EDIT: And yes, I bought the book at full price! Proof is above. This ain’t no payola-driven walrus blog!

The Author, Stephen Savage, follows us on Twitter (@walrusweb) – you can check him out on Twitter here @savageartist. A promotional “trailer” made the rounds on the Web when the book was released – it’s worth watching, so check it out right here!

I love this book. I grew up in New Jersey, and since my Dad was a student and later a professor at Columbia University we spent a great deal of time in the City. Of the things that I still strongly associate with New York City, the books of Ezra Jack Keats, particularly “Hi, Cat!” “Where’s Walrus?” reminds me of this book.

Pick up a copy of this delightful book for the small child in your life. They will love it. Here’s the link on Amazon, and for good measure – here’s a link to The Cat as well.

Buy Where’s Walrus? on Amazon.com
Buy Hi, Cat (Picture Books) on Amazon.com

Great painting of a walrus being created – check this video out!

I got an email today from a guy asking me to check out this video of his brother’s walrus art, ’cause he thought it would go great on the blog. OK, I’ll check it out… And he was right. Thanks for the tip! Great painting and amazing process. Seriously, stay with this video ’til the end because you’ll be amazed. I guarantee you’ll be saying to yourself, OK – where’s the walrus? But just wait….

Nice work!

Another Great Walrus Photo from National Geographic Prints Store

(C) Pete Barrett, National Geographic Image Collection

Check out this great photo available from the National Geographic Prints Store. I have another walrus print from this store hanging on my office wall, but I may have to order this one too. Prints from the store range in price from $24.95 up to a 50″ print for $199. Think my girlfriend will let me get THAT one into the house? Yeah, me neither.

Here’s the link to this photo. Such a thoughtful walrus, and a great photo – please support this photographer by buying a print, if you feel like your home or office needs a little extra walrus!

http://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/photo/9448943/