Vets prescribe round-the-clock ‘cuddling’ for orphan walrus calf

A walrus calf found alone and miles from the ocean in Alaska is being fed every three hours and receiving round-the-clock “cuddling” from doting animal welfare workers who are trying to keep the one-month-old baby alive.

The male Pacific walrus – which who, so far, does not have a name – was found on Monday and flown a day later from Alaska’s North Slope to Seward, where the Alaska SeaLife Centre is based, a journey of about 700 miles.

Staff with the non-profit research facility and public aquarium are caring for the gigantic, brown, wrinkly-skinned baby, which was dehydrated and possibly fighting an infection.

In an effort to mimic the near-constant care a calf would get from its mother, the walrus is receiving “round-the-clock cuddling” to keep him calm and aid in his development, the centre said.

It described the cuddling as trained staff giving the walrus “the option to have a warm body to lean up against, which he has been taking advantage of almost constantly”.

The calf was found by oil field workers about four miles inland from the Beaufort Sea, in Alaska’s extreme north.

A “walrus trail”, or track, was seen on the tundra near a road where the walrus was found. But it is unclear how, exactly, it got there, the centre said.

While calves rely on their mothers for their first two years of life, no adults were seen nearby, which raised concerns about the infant’s ability to survive without intervention.

The range of the Pacific walrus includes the northern Bering and Chukchi seas but the walruses are occasionally observed in areas like the Beaufort Sea to the north east, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

The walrus – one of just 10 that the centre has cared for in its 25-year history – is already taking formula milk from a bottle, the centre said.

The calf likely will be under 24-hour care for at least several weeks, a timeline that will depend on his progress, appetite and medical condition, the centre said.

ConocoPhillips Alaska, a major oil producer in the state operating on the North Slope, offered a company plane to fly the calf to Seward.