Having a few surprise visitors is n’t usually a problem . Sure , you may not have enough nutrient to go around , but it ’s generally easy enough to oblige them . When there ’s over 1,000 of them and each weighs around 1.5 tons , taking up around 3.5 meter ( 11.5 foot ) each , it ’s a bit more of a problem .
The bantam Alaskan village of Port Heiden – universe 110 – experienced this recently when 1,000 walruses accidentally rocked up on their peninsula .
In the past they ’ve had one or two of these rather sizeable creatures turn up for a bit of a rest , but this many en masse is new , and no one is sure why they are suddenly here .
Last month , the village ’s Tribal Council president , John Christensen Jr , was out on a beach drive when he came across initially 200 walruses gain on the beach . Smelling something unpleasant , he followed the scent up the coast until he came across the surprising sight .
“ We thought something was dead , so we were looking for dead ocean otters or seal on the beach so we could account them to the LEO ( Local Environmental Observer ) internet , ” hesaid .
“ We were wondering what those white thing in the sky were . You could see their tusks in the air . When we get closer , we could see their bodies . ”
Two weeks afterwards , he was even more surprised to find that the routine now more nearly resembled 1,000 .
US Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Joel Garlich - Miller , who speciate in walruses , severalize theAssociated Pressthat he ’s not sure why the toothsome wolf have gathered on the Alaskan peninsula but it could be related to nutrient availableness , or a lack thereof .
sea horse , orOdobenus rosmarus , which translates as “ tooth - walking sea sawhorse ” , usually spend the winter month in the Bering Sea , where the sea ice rink can sustain huge Book of Numbers . When the ice melts , the males and females separate , with the females and their young drift for the Chukchi Sea , and the male plump up on food before gathering on islands in the Bering Sea to take a breather .
agree to Garlich - Miller , in the 1980s , around 10,000 walruses used to gather on Round Island , part of theWalrus Islands State Game Sanctuary , just off Bristol Bay in Alaska . More recently , only 2,000 - 3,000 have been seen .
This could be to do with thesea ice not formingas far in the south as it used to and the walruses having to search elsewhere to safely rest . A decent , subdued , and – significantly – unoccupied Alaskan peninsula probably looks fairly unspoilt when your options are limited .
