A walrus calf found alone and miles from the ocean in Alaska has been prescribed round-the-clock ‘cuddling’ from doting animal welfare workers who are trying to keep the one-month-old baby alive.

The male Pacific walrus – who does not yet have a name – was found four miles inland on Monday and was immediately flown over 700 miles to receive emergency treatment at the Alaskan Sealife centre.

Staff at the non-profit research facility and public aquarium have since been providing round-the-clock care for the gigantic, brown, wrinkly-skinned baby, who was severely dehydrated and possibly fighting an infection.

In an effort to mimic the near-constant care a calf would get from its mother, the walrus is receiving ‘round-the-clock cuddling’ to keep him calm and aid in his development, the centre said.

He is also being fed every three hours ‘like clockwork’ in an attempt to nurse it back to health.

The calf was found by oil field workers about four miles inland from the Beaufort Sea, in Alaska’s extreme north.

A ‘walrus trail’, or track, was seen on the tundra near a road where the walrus was found. But it is unclear how, exactly, it got there, the centre said.

While calves rely on their mothers for their first two years of life, no adults were seen nearby, which raised concerns about the infant’s ability to survive without intervention.

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 to the north east, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

The walrus – one of just 10 that the centre has cared for in its 25-year history – is already taking formula milk from a bottle, the centre 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 centre said.

ConocoPhillips Alaska, a major oil producer in the state operating on the North Slope, offered a company plane to fly the calf to Seward, where the aquatic centre is located.

Source:
courtesy of METRO

by Tom Sanders

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