Scientists investigate massive walrus haul-out in Alaska | Environment | guardian.co.uk
The flight of the walrus, first reported by the Alaska Dispatch, has reinforced warnings from scientists that the lumbering animal may be headed for extinction because of climate change.Flashback: Global Warming Could Reverse a Walrus Comeback - NYTimes.com
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"Walrus mums and calves need the sea ice to rest," said Shaye Wold of the Centre for Biological Diversity. "When the sea ice disappears they are forced to come to shore and their calves are extremely vulnerable to being trampled in a stampede as you can imagine with 10,000 to 20,000 walruses on shore trying to forage in a limited area."
For the moment, the Pacific walrus remains abundant, numbering at least 200,000 by some accounts, double the number in the 1950s.Flashback: About those walrus stampedes
What's the baseline number of annual stampede deaths?
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