"Walruses in the Arctic Are Running Out of Sea Ice This Year — Again"

"Last September, the remote community of Point Lay on Alaska’s North Slope became the focus of headline news when a staggering 35,000 walruses crowded onto the shore nearby. And now, some scientists are saying a similar event could happen this summer — in fact, any time now.

Last year’s gathering, scientists explained, had a worrying explanation. Walruses prefer to spend their time hanging out on the Arctic sea ice, which allows them a resting place in the open ocean where food is abundant. In the summer, when sea ice begins to melt, walruses typically follow the retreating ice north and migrate back south again when the ice refreezes in the fall.

But last year, sea ice in the Chukchi sea (which lies between Alaska and Russia) got down to such low levels — an increasingly common occurrence as climate change dramatically reshapes the Arctic — that tens of thousands of walruses in the area were forced to drag themselves onto the Alaskan shore in search of rest, a behavior known as “hauling out.” And this year, ice is already low enough again that it’s looking like another haul-out may be imminent."

Chelsea Harvey reports for the Washington Post August 12, 2015.