Well, I came at this sort of backwards, since I didn’t know about Nereus, the subject of this episode until after his passing (after a good life at the Indianapolis Zoo).
Since this post – I have learned who Nereus was – and I discovered this show! It’s an episode of an Animal Planet series called “Growing Up…” which focuses on many different types of wild animals. This episode is so fun to watch. Although there are some moments at the beginning where the viewer is not sure what is to become of Nereus, it is after all a one-hour show and the little walrus rebounds and thrives. It’s amazing to see the personality and playfulness of this rapidly-growing little animal as he grows into his surroundings. One of my favorite scenes has Nereus swimming, and splashing around with his flippers as he plays with one of the adult female walruses, as well as the amusing sequence where he discovers snow for the first time. This is definitely worth watching ESPECIALLY if you have kids around. Even if they give you the eye-roll when you pull out and animal show, they will be won over by Nereus.
Here’s the link to the DVD of Growing Up Walrus at Amazon.com.
There’s another very nice blog posting about Nereus, this show and the passing of “Sitka”, one of the adult female walruses from this episode on “Buddy’s Bemusings” at this link.
Found alone on a beach in Alaska, an orphaned baby pacific walrus is rescued and finds a new home thousands of miles away at the Indianapolis Zoo. Named ‘Nereus’, the baby walrus receives ’round the clock care from his human keepers as they prepare him to join the zoo’s family of enormous adult walruses.
I loved this show – I’ve watched it three times now with various family members and I can tell you that Nereus has converted some of them to walrus lovers!
I posted about Nereus’ passing here:Â “RIP Nereus: Indianapolis Zoo Loses Their Beloved Walrus”