[graffis-l] GLOBAL WARMING'S LATEST VICTIMS: PACIFIC WALRUSES

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Global warming's latest victims: Pacific

walruses

 

 

Posted by: " Mark Graffis "

mgraffis

mgraffis

 

 

Sun Dec 16, 2007 5:25 pm (PST)

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/343704_walrus15.html

Global warming's latest victims: Pacific walruses Melting sea ice forces herds to crowd beaches; thousands die in

stampedes

Last updated December 14, 2007 11:50 p.m. PT

By DAN JOLING

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- In what some scientists see as another alarming

consequence of global warming, thousands of Pacific walruses above the

Arctic Circle were killed in stampedes earlier this year after the

disappearance of sea ice caused them to crowd onto the shoreline in

extraordinary numbers.

The deaths took place during the late summer and fall on the Russian

side of the Bering Strait, which separates Alaska from Russia.

" It was a pretty sobering year -- tough on walruses, " said

Joel Garlach-Miller, a walrus expert for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service.

Unlike seals, walruses cannot swim indefinitely. The giant, tusked

mammals typically clamber onto the sea ice to rest, or haul themselves

onto land for just a few weeks at a time.

But ice disappeared in the Chukchi Sea this year because of warm

summer weather, ocean currents and persistent eastern winds,

Garlach-Miller said.

As a result, walruses came ashore earlier and stayed longer,

congregating in extremely high numbers, with herds as big as 40,000 at

Point Shmidt, a spot that had not been used by walruses as a

" haulout " for a century, scientists said.

Walruses are vulnerable to stampedes when they gather in such large

numbers. The appearance of a polar bear, a hunter or a low-flying

airplane can send them rushing to the water.

Sure enough, scientists received reports of hundreds and hundreds of

walruses dead of internal injuries suffered in stampedes. Many of the

youngest and weakest animals, mostly calves born in the spring, were

crushed.

Biologist Anatoly Kochnev of Russia's Pacific Institute of Fisheries

and Oceanography estimated 3,000 to 4,000 walruses out of a population of

perhaps 200,000 died, or two or three times the usual number on shoreline

haulouts.

He said the animals started appearing on shore for extended periods

only in the late 1990s, after the sea ice receded.

" The reason is the global warming, " Kochnev said.

The reports match predictions of what might happen to walruses if the

ice receded, said wildlife biologist Tony Fischbach of the U.S.

Geological Survey.

" We were surprised that this was happening so soon, and we were

surprised at the magnitude of the report, " he said.

Scientists said the death of so many walruses -- particularly calves

-- is alarming in itself. But if the trend continues, and walruses no

longer have summer sea ice from which to dive for clams and snails, they

could strip coastal areas of food, and that could reduce their numbers

even further.

No large-scale walrus die-offs were seen in Alaska during the same

period, apparently because the animals congregated in smaller groups on

the American side of the Bering Strait, with the biggest known herd at

about 2,500.

© 1998-2007 Seattle Post-Intelligencer

hAt 08:53 AM 12/17/07, you wrote:

Global warming's latest victims:

Pacific walruses

Posted by: " Mark Graffis " mgraffis

mgraffis

Sun Dec 16, 2007 5:25 pm (PST)

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/343704_walrus15.html

Global warming's latest victims: Pacific walruses

Melting sea ice forces herds to crowd beaches; thousands die in

stampedes

Last updated December 14, 2007 11:50 p.m. PT

By DAN JOLING

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- In what some scientists see as another alarming

consequence of global warming, thousands of Pacific walruses above the

Arctic Circle were killed in stampedes earlier this year after the

disappearance of sea ice caused them to crowd onto the shoreline in

extraordinary numbers.

The deaths took place during the late summer and fall on the Russian side

of the Bering Strait, which separates Alaska from Russia.

" It was a pretty sobering year -- tough on walruses, " said Joel

Garlach-Miller, a walrus expert for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service.

Unlike seals, walruses cannot swim indefinitely. The giant, tusked

mammals typically clamber onto the sea ice to rest, or haul themselves

onto land for just a few weeks at a time.

But ice disappeared in the Chukchi Sea this year because of warm summer

weather, ocean currents and persistent eastern winds, Garlach-Miller

said.

As a result, walruses came ashore earlier and stayed longer, congregating

in extremely high numbers, with herds as big as 40,000 at Point Shmidt, a

spot that had not been used by walruses as a " haulout " for a

century, scientists said.

Walruses are vulnerable to stampedes when they gather in such large

numbers. The appearance of a polar bear, a hunter or a low-flying

airplane can send them rushing to the water.

Sure enough, scientists received reports of hundreds and hundreds of

walruses dead of internal injuries suffered in stampedes. Many of the

youngest and weakest animals, mostly calves born in the spring, were

crushed.

Biologist Anatoly Kochnev of Russia's Pacific Institute of Fisheries and

Oceanography estimated 3,000 to 4,000 walruses out of a population of

perhaps 200,000 died, or two or three times the usual number on shoreline

haulouts.

He said the animals started appearing on shore for extended periods only

in the late 1990s, after the sea ice receded.

" The reason is the global warming, " Kochnev said.

The reports match predictions of what might happen to walruses if the ice

receded, said wildlife biologist Tony Fischbach of the U.S. Geological

Survey.

" We were surprised that this was happening so soon, and we were

surprised at the magnitude of the report, " he said.

Scientists said the death of so many walruses -- particularly calves --

is alarming in itself. But if the trend continues, and walruses no longer

have summer sea ice from which to dive for clams and snails, they could

strip coastal areas of food, and that could reduce their numbers even

further.

No large-scale walrus die-offs were seen in Alaska during the same

period, apparently because the animals congregated in smaller groups on

the American side of the Bering Strait, with the biggest known herd at

about 2,500.

© 1998-2007 Seattle Post-Intelligencer

 

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