According to a study published in April by the Journal of Aquatic Animals, Arctic scientists have discovered the deaths of newborn walruses due to rising temperatures melting icebergs.
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Melting icebergs – a deadly threat to walrus populations. |
Two years ago, during the period when icebreaker ships were operating in Canada’s bays, scientists observed unusually high sea temperatures, reaching 44oF (approximately 7oC), moving from the Bering Sea to the south. Researchers reported that the rising water temperatures quickly caused the shallow continental shelf ice north of Alaska to melt.
They found nine abandoned newborn walruses—a “never-before-seen” number of walruses in conditions where their mothers should stay with them for two years.
Dr. Carin Ashjian, a biologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, stated, “We were on the continental shelf for 24 hours, and the baby walruses swam around us, appearing to call for help, but we could not save them.”
The icebergs serve as resting spots for walruses. Their mothers abandoned them when they dove to the sea floor to hunt for food, such as crabs and fish.
According to scientists, the rising ocean temperatures forced mother walruses to leave their young to retreat to colder northern waters.
Without their mothers, the young walruses were nearly starving or drowning. They could not feed themselves or learn how to eat. Arctic warming is a warning sign for the survival of the walrus species.
Scientists concluded: “This is the destruction of walruses and other animal species under conditions of global warming. The melting icebergs have deprived these animals of safe habitats.”
Ngoc Huyen
