Abandoned walrus pup given constant cuddles to keep him alive
The constant cuddles are an attempt to imitate a mother’s warmth
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Your support makes all the difference.A baby walrus rescued in Alaska is receiving round-the-clock cuddles after being found alone miles away from the ocean.
The unnamed calf was taken to Alaska SeaLife Centre on Tuesday after being discovered by oil field workers four miles away from the Beaufort Sea.
Calves can be dependent on their mothers for as long as two and a half years, so the constant cuddles are an attempt to imitate a mother’s warm embrace and keep the walrus alive.
The cuddles give the month-old walrus an “option to have a warm body to lean up against” which workers said he has been “taking advantage of almost constantly”.
The baby walrus weighs a hefty 90kg and is fed every three hours after being admitted to the centre’s Wildlife Response Program.
He will be under 24-hour care for several weeks as he’s nursed back to health, workers at the Alaska SeaLife Centre have said, having been found dehydrated, malnourished and with one cloudy eye.
While a walrus track was located near where the walrus was found, there was no sign of adults nearby and it is still unknown how the calf ended up alone.
The day after he was rescued he was flown 700 miles to Seward, where the marine mammal rehabilitation facility is located.
He is one of only ten walruses admitted in the centre’s 25-year history.
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