Walruses Found Dead, Beheaded On Alaskan Beach

Lara Horstmann-Dehn, a professor of marine biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said it was possible that the animals died due to natural causes, such as a mass trampling event or even infections, as was suspected during a similar incident in August 2011.

Some of the animals were beheaded, others were found missing their tusks.

Federal authorities are investigating the death of 25 Pacific walruses found along the Alaskan shoreline last week, casting the controversial practice of “head-hunting” back into the spotlight.

A federal investigation is underway into the deaths of 25 walrus near Cape Lisburne, 40 miles northeast of the village of Point Hope, on the Chukchi Sea. They are part of the diets of Alaskan natives who live along the coast, and their tusks, bones and hides are sometimes used as part of their handicrafts. The Department of Justice stated that as a result of the opening of that investigation, they will have no further comments in order to protect the integrity of the case.

“We’ve opened an investigation and can no longer answer questions about it”, she said.

Last year, about 60 young animals at the Point Lay haulout were killed in such a manner, the Fish and Wildlife Service said.

One possibility, for instance, is that the walruses died at sea and were washed ashore, said Ms. Medeiros. Skulls with tusks attached are collectors’ items.

Like elephant tusks, the ivory found in walrus tusks is considered of high value in underground circles. It’s the fourth-lowest level on record for summer sea ice in September.

The fate of the walruses has become a reason for worry as climate warming reduces summer sea ice and the polar ice cap draws back beyond the shallow outer continental shelf across water too deep for walruses to catch clams and snails on the bottom of the ocean. Arctic sea ice hit its summer minimum this month 1.7 million square miles, down 240,000 square miles from 2014, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. As ice melts, walrus move north over new feeding areas.

The animals were discovered near Point Lay at the same location where 35,000 walrus were spotted on shore September 2.

Walruses in large numbers on shore were first spotted on the US side of the Chukchi Sea in 2007.

When the animals are grouped shoulder-to-shoulder in massive herds, they are subject to stampedes if startled by an airplane, hunter or polar bear.