Walrus Ashore in the Arctic

Thousands of Pacific walrus gather on shore near Point Lay in this aerial image captured during a NOAA survey of the Chukchi Sea. The arctic surveys serve to document the distribution and relative abundance of bowhead, gray, right, and fin whales, belugas, and other marine mammals in areas of potential oil and natural gas exploration, development, and production activities in the Alaskan Beaufort and northeastern Chukchi Seas.

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FOR GREENPEACE PUBLISHED MATERIAL ONLY. FOR ALL EXTERNAL ENQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL PHOTO REPRESENTATIVE OR GREENPEACE INTERNATIONAL PHOTO LIBRARY.

Unique identifier: GP0STOMM5

Type: Image

Shoot date: 27/09/2014

Locations: Alaska, Arctic, Chukchi Sea, North America, United States of America

Credit line: © National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Ranking: ★★★★ (E)

Containers

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Pacific Walrus in the Alaskan Arctic

Thousands of Pacific walrus gather on shore near Point Lay, Alaska, in this aerial images made Sept. 23, 2014, during a NOAA survey of the Chukchi Sea. The arctic surveys serve to document the distribution and relative abundance of bowhead, gray, right, and fin whales, belugas, and other marine mammals in areas of potential oil and natural gas exploration, development, and production activities in the Alaskan Beaufort and northeastern Chukchi Seas. Pacific walrus are dependent on sea ice where they rest and dive to the bottom of the continental shelf for food. Climate change induced warming has caused the sea ice to retreat into deep areas of the Arctic Ocean where the walrus cannot dive for food, forcing them ashore where there is increased mortality from stampedes in the herd.

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