Thousands of walrus have appeared on Alaska's northwest coast in what conservationists are calling a dramatic consequence of global warming melting the Arctic sea ice.
September sea ice was 39 percent below the long-term average from 1979 to 2000. Sea ice cover is in a downward spiral and may have passed the point of no return, with a possible ice-free Arctic Ocean by summer 2030
animals are shifting their distribution to find prey
Walrus feed on clams, snails and other bottom dwellers.
he big question is whether they will be able to find sufficient prey i
biologists fear walrus will suffer nutritional stress if they are concentrated on shoreline rather than spread over thousands of miles of sea ice.
Walrus need either ice or land to rest. Unlike seals, they cannot swim indefinitely and must pause after foraging.
If they've got to travel farther, it's going to cost more energy. That's less energy that's available for other functions
maintaining ice habitat, that's something way,
clipped from: news.yahoo.com 