Walruses over the last decade have come to shore on the Alaska and Russia sides of the Chukchi Sea as sea ice diminishes because of global warming.
It’s rare to see humpbacks in Turnagain Arm, known for its swift tides and shallow waters.
Biologists believe the 18- to 20-foot whale may be sick or injured. It’s unclear if it will be able to swim out during high tide.
The herds are increasingly moving around in Bristol Bay, perhaps seeking new feeding grounds, a biologist said.
Three of the walruses had low to moderate levels of saxitoxin, while the fourth one had high levels.
Sea ice in the Chukchi Sea disappeared far earlier than normal this spring as a result of exceptionally warm ocean temperatures.
The notoriously difficult-to-study Pacific walrus population decreased by about half between 1981 and 1999, likely due to hunting and changes to sea-ice habitat, according to a new USGS study that is considered the most up-to-date and comprehensive so far. The Pacific walrus is being considered for Endangered Species Act protections.
An Alaska scientist challenges the so-called unexplained lesions and deaths observed among Arctic sea life in 2011 and 2012.
Biologists are trying to determine what's ailing ringed seals that live off Alaska's Arctic coast. Scores of seals stranded on beaches this summer appeared to have skin lesions, and dozens have died.
Pacific walruses are beaching on Northwest Alaska shores, peppered with bleeding skin legions that have been observed on dying ringed seals in Arctic Alaska, according to federal biologists.
Officials are encouraging the public to be safe, report polar bears in the area and never approach the animals, which can be “dangerous and unpredictable.”
With relatively calm summer weather, an Utqiagvik crew landed at least 11 beluga whales this season, Wainwright was lucky to caught 50, and Kotzebue Sound saw the second-highest harvest in more than a decade, according to local hunters.
Spirit camp participants and residents along the Yukon River were shocked to see a lone beluga whale on the Yukon River in early August.
Harju said that due to its long tusks, she guessed that it was an older walrus, adding that the animal was calm during the hour that she watched it lay on the beach.
There was a slight rise in population numbers of the very rare animals last year.
Rare melanistic seals have been captured on camera in north Norfolk. Rangers have spotted 10 melanistic seal pups during the winter 2020-21 pupping season at Blakeney Point.
Police confirm no further polar bear sightings in Kuujjuaq following the shooting of a young bear in the town center, with ongoing vigilance for potential wildlife threats.
The animal was part of a pod which rescuers hoped would swim to deeper water before a major military exercise.
“Our shipping monitors clocked another cruise ship going at excessive speed near Pond Inlet,” posted Baffinland Iron Mines on their Twitter account Sept. 22. While the maximum speed was agreed at nine knots in some passages used by the cruise ships, one ship in particular, The Hanseatic from Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, was clocked at almost 16 knots, nearly twice the velocity. It’s the second time this month the cruise line has been clocked in excess of the speed limit agreement.
A rescue center says California sea lions are coming down with a potentially fatal bacterial infection in near-record numbers.The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito says more than 220 sea lions rescued this year have been diagnosed with leptospirosis.
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