China News Service, November 12th. According to a report by the US "World Journal" on the 11th, Russian scientists recently discovered a large group of Atlantic walrus clusters on land for "social activities" on the coast of the northern Kara Sea.
Scientists point out that this may be a sign that the walrus population is recovering, which is very encouraging.
Recently, in Russia's Yamal Peninsula, groups of walruses crowded on the beach lazily basking in the sun.
The beach is located in a remote corner of Russia's Yamal Peninsula. Researchers have found more than 3,000 walruses crowded here. In recent decades, only dozens of Atlantic walruses have been found in the area.
According to reports, the "landing" behavior of walruses is called "Haul-out", which refers to seals, sea lions, and walruses temporarily leaving the water and dragging themselves onto land or sea ice for breeding and rest reasons.
This behavior usually occurs during foraging.
Walrus "landing" usually appears on drifting sea ice or Arctic islands, but global warming has caused sea ice to shrink. In addition, the habitat of the walrus is also threatened by oil and gas exploration and increased Arctic shipping.
Aleksander Sokolov, a senior Arctic researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences, said: "This'landing' phenomenon is unique because there are both female and male walruses, and the age range is very wide."
Sokolov called the discovery a "unique open-air laboratory" that allowed him and his team to analyze thousands of walruses at once.
Scientists have collected DNA samples of this group of walruses and installed satellite trackers on several of them, which will monitor their movements for several months.
Andrei Boltunov of the Marine Mammal Research and Investigation Center pointed out that the ice-free season in the Kara Sea has become longer for decades, even though there is not enough information to determine whether the walrus population is recovering. in conclusion.
But Boltunov said, "We hope this is a good sign."