they have again congregated at Point Lay. it happens earlier and in greater numbers. the community seems to be trying to keep them protected. they are remote which helps and the community seems pretty dedicated to protecting them which i am grateful for. curiosity can bring people in and many do not realize that walrus are prone to stampede if spooked and they spook easily. there may have been a plane or a boat in the area trying to come in for a closer look.
over 60 walrus are dead. many of those are young walrus. sadly, these are large animals and when they panic and move on land they can crush these younger and more vulnerable calves.
this is one of the reasons Round Island is so amazing. it allows for people to get to visit and enjoy these amazing animals in a controlled situation that is much safer for the animals. there are rangers there who can over see and instruct people regarding how to behave around walrus. how to best protect them. many aren't satisfied with this though and will try and find more and more ways to view these guys...that can mean these stampedes happen.
many don't like to admit the truth that the science has found. less ice means greater numbers of these guys hauling out on land. this makes them more vulnerable. in the past they have had their calves on ice floes and stayed out there longer, safer. now the ice retreats earlier, takes longer to build back up and is thinner overall.
Antarctica is also melting but at a slower rate...though they did just have a huge chunk of ice fall off..i believe it was nearly the size of a small state. ice melts slower when on frozen ground as opposed to being on open water. the chunk of ice that calved in Antarctica was in a section that is melting faster since it's not over land. this science isn't complicated. if you have a cooler and you are going on a picnic...what is the best means of keeping your drinks cool. cold water, cold water with some ice, ice chips or a block of ice? if you put that block of ice on frozen ground it would last even longer, even if you warmed the ambient temperatures by a few degrees.
i remember i was giving report at work one morning and i had a soda can sitting there. i was going to take it to the recycling bin in the break room after i gave report. the nurse i was giving report to grabbed the can and tossed it in the trash. i got it out and said i was taking it to the recycling bin. she then said, "oh, i don't believe in recycling".
recycling isn't a religion. you don't believe in it or not believe in it. it's something you do or don't do. global warming or climate change isn't a religion either. it's not something i believe in. it's something i have read about and seen. i see the glaciers melt. i see the sea ice has decreased. the science backs up what we see up here and in other arctic climates. science from around the globe sees what is going on. there is much research to be done and science is always it's own skeptic.
it seems from research to be more accelerated from previous warming trends in the past. it seems from science that the industrial age and human numbers have an impact. rather than denying, i wish people would read the science, speak to the native populations in northern climates about what they know, what they have observed. even if people feel this isn't sped up or impacted by human activity....our earth is on a warming trend and that will impact many things. we should want to know how it will impact our earth and how we can work to adapt to these changes that will come to pass.
the animals and plants and other life forms in the northern climates are our first line of observation. trying to understand how these changes may impact species such as walrus, polar bears, seals and whales....as well as the things these animals eat will help us understand how we may be impacted.
they may well adapt. they may also disappear. many species have been unable to adapt to our changing earth over the years. many simply can't adapt to human encroachment on their lands. humans do have an impact on the world around us...we are responsible for the loss of a great deal of habitat and species. those are facts. that doesn't mean we are terrible people. do i do all i could do, no. it's pretty impossible in our modern world to have anything but a negative impact on the world we live on. do i feel guilty...yes sometimes i do. have i dramatically changed how i live my life? probably not as much as i could.
but understanding what is happening and being aware and trying to protect what we can and do what we can does help.
if we all try to do at least a few things we can help. plan your errands and daily activities so you use less gas. purchase local when you can. planes use a great deal of fuel and are inefficient overall. do recycle when you can. plant trees. think about what you purchase. i am no expert but i do know we can have a more positive impact or a more negative impact. try to be the more positive impact.
i remember a conversation late at night in the RCU several years back. these two guys were slamming non-profits. they joked that everyone claims to be "raising awareness" and how stupid that was. at that point i explained to them that i had recently started this non-profit...the conversation continued and i explained to them a great deal about walrus and what risks they have...in the end as they listened intently to what i said...i laughed and said...i think i just made you more aware...then we all laughed.
WARIS doesn't raise a lot of money, but we do raise awareness in our small way. sometimes you do what you can. could i do this bigger. yes, but sometimes you have to balance raising awareness with raising too much awareness. if we make too many curious, more will come and attempt to fly into places like Point Lay. right now with this current administration I'd rather run a bit on the chill side. Explore seems to be willing to help out over the next few years anyway. Obama did designate this place i love as a Historic Landmark. this administration seems pretty hell bent on undoing anything with Obama's name on it..really it seems for spite and out of anger. the anger seems a bit over the top. But there it is. best to not bring too much attention or i will make the situation worse not better i fear.
Rus wants to make claims over the north pole region for oil and gas exploration. Put won't care about the wildlife. for years he has been trying to claim that Rus owns all the "land" under the Arctic Ocean as he states it's contingent to Rus. what does he care about polar bears or walrus....
love when they fan out their back flippers.
stretch.
as the ice melts the water will be opened up for more ships. how will this impact these animals. cruise ships have increased in our waters and every year one or two of them seem to come into port with a dead whale on their bow. did the ship hitting the whale kill it or did the ship run into a dead whale?
many animals like the whales are known to use echolocation and noise from increased shipping can have an impact. it also opens up more opportunity for those who like to kill whales for "science".
our world is pretty scary right now. NK tossed another bomb over Japan. our current iitoo is ill equipped to deal with these international affairs. he is bullish, and reactionary. tweeting is no way to run a nation...it can't end well for many people. he seems to be best at pissing off people not bringing people together. our relations with nations that were strong allies seem to be pretty sketchy at this time. a huge 8.2 earthquake in Mexico and he can't be bothered to say anything really.
as i prepared to board my little boat heading off the island these two huge walrus were chilling near the boat launch. being that close was pretty impressive...they are huge animals.
these guys are pretty old too...so the really big guys indeed.
sunning and scratching.
no idea what the future will bring. i heard that those in South Korea were just going about their business today despite all the crazy actions from the nut north of them. what can they do...we are all just pawns in this game of ego's. live in fear and anxiety or just go about your day to day routine.
hard to ignore for me all that is happening or could be happening but ultimately you don't control much really. i can scream out my opinions, but i have no power over those who are in charge of the buttons that launch these weapons that i just wish didn't exist. the devastation that we brought on Japan all those years ago is well documented and truly terrifying. the movie "war games" was right...what is the point? one bomb drops then lots more drop and the people who make those decisions hide out in protective areas while the pawns suffer.
all this guys effort to sit up.
time to turn over though i guess.
check out those bosses!! this guy is up there!!
enjoyed a walk with friends up Powerline Pass. no moose spotted. it was a bit windy but only a light rain pelted us intermittently.
a bit of blood on that tusk. probably just from heaving that huge body up to that spot.
now i am on the boat...we are waiting for the other day visitor to finish exploring in short time he had. then he took a moment to check out the fox that is in the rocks below. poor guy dropped one of his small cameras in those rocks so that was a bit more time, trying to locate that. i don't think he did.
below you can see the "steps" up from the rocks from this alternate route onto the island. we did this route the first time i came to Round Island.
there is the little fox.
enjoyed the antics of a few sea lions as we waited as well.
and we are off...
fairly calm seas for the ride back
the island gets further away...you can see trails below...or maybe i can see them since i know where they are.
zoom in on the end of the dragons spine as we leave.
after our walk i lay down and read and relaxed for a bit. nothing like a lazy afternoon.
Round Island in the distance. will i ever see her again?
even further out. had my skin appointment today. just a few small, normal looking moles. nothing concerning. good until my next check. i think it took less than 10 minutes. wonder how much that bill will end up costing?
the little zodiac is how you row back and forth between boat and island...
or how you get dragged over the mud if you get back to Togiak at low tide...which we did. me and my gear were dragged quite a ways...the boat looks tiny out there. several hundred feet...
at some point i got tired of being treated like a princess and dragged out...so i got out and attempted to walk. i failed pretty miserably. my boots kept getting stuck in the mud and then i kept falling over. the rest of my day i was coated with mud. finally stepped out of the boots and walked through it barefoot, which was a bit easier. of course, getting the boots out of the mud wasn't easy. i did a general hose off at the boat captains sisters place, but i wanted to catch a little plane out of there, then catch a bigger plane out of Togiak to Dillingham. i was able to get home that night but i was a mess. the shower felt great.
grateful for: A. all that i have learned since moving north. B. walking on another blustery day enjoying fall colors C. every day that the nuclear bombs don't rain down on us all.
