Current:Home > Back‘Cuddling’: Just what the doctor ordered for rescued walrus calf in Alaska-InfoLens
‘Cuddling’: Just what the doctor ordered for rescued walrus calf in Alaska
View Date:2024-12-23 20:15:54
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A walrus calf is being nursed back to health after being found on its own miles inland by oil field workers in Alaska.
The male Pacific walrus was found Monday and flown a day later from the North Slope to Seward, where the Alaska SeaLife Center is based — a journey of at least 700 miles (1,126 kilometers). Staff with the nonprofit research facility and public aquarium are caring for the roughly 200-pound (90 kilogram) animal, which was found to be dehydrated and possibly fighting an infection. ConocoPhillips Alaska, a major oil producer in the state operating on the North Slope, offered the use of a company plane to fly the calf to Seward.
The calf, estimated to be about one month old, was found about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) inland from the Beaufort Sea, the center said. A “walrus trail,” or tracks, was seen on the tundra near a road where the walrus was found. But it’s unclear how, exactly, the calf got there, the center said.
The range of the Pacific walrus includes the northern Bering and Chukchi seas but the walruses are occasionally observed in areas like the Beaufort Sea, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
While calves rely on their mothers for their first two years of life, no adults were seen nearby, which raised concerns about the calf’s ability to survive without intervention, the center said.
In an effort to mimic the near-constant care a calf would get from its mom, the walrus is receiving “round the clock ‘cuddling’” to keep him calm and aid in his development, the center said. It described the cuddling as trained staff giving the walrus “the option to have a warm body to lean up against, which he has been taking advantage of almost constantly.”
The walrus — one of just 10 that the center has cared for in its 25-year history — is already taking formula from a bottle, the center said. The calf likely will be under 24-hour care for at least several weeks, a timeline that will depend on his progress, appetite and medical condition, the center said.
veryGood! (675)
Related
- Kendall Jenner Is Back to Being a Brunette After Ditching Blonde Hair
- Michigan cosmetology school agrees to $2.8M settlement in an unpaid labor dispute
- San Francisco supervisors will take up resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza
- Arrest made in deadly pre-Christmas Florida mall shooting
- Bridgerton's Luke Newton Details His Physical Transformation for Season 3's Leading Role
- Madewell Added These Bestsellers to Their Sale-On-Sale & I’m Building My Winter Capsule Wardrobe Now
- Gillian Anderson wears dress with embroidered vaginas to Golden Globes: 'Brand appropriate'
- Opening statements expected in trial over constitutional challenge to Georgia voting system
- Taking stock of bonds: Does the 60/40 rule still have a role in retirement savings?
- Singer, actress Halle Bailey announces birth of son: Welcome to the world my halo
Ranking
- Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul stirs debate: Is this a legitimate fight?
- Spain investigates contamination of Atlantic shore by countless plastic pellets spilled from ship
- When can you file taxes this year? Here's when the 2024 tax season opens.
- Emma Stone Jokingly Reacts to Support From “A--hole” Taylor Swift
- Shawn Mendes Confesses He and Camila Cabello Are No Longer the Closest
- Police name dead suspect in 3 Virginia cold cases, including 2 of the ‘Colonial Parkway Murders’
- French prime minister resigns following recent political tensions over immigration
- Endangered jaguar previously unknown to U.S. is caught on camera in Arizona
Recommendation
-
Jury awards Abu Ghraib detainees $42 million, holds contractor responsible
-
'Mind-boggling': Firefighter charged after responding to house fire in another county, reports say
-
MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan quits rather than accept demotion at news network
-
Veteran actress Jodie Foster: I have managed to survive, and survive intact, and that was no small feat
-
Paraguay vs. Argentina live updates: Watch Messi play World Cup qualifying match tonight
-
Guatemala’s president-elect announces his Cabinet ahead of swearing-in
-
German soccer legend dies at 78. Franz Beckenbauer won World Cup as player and a coach
-
Ohio teacher undergoes brain surgery after 15-year-old student attacks her