Walrus surprise residents in remote Alaska village
Tribal Council President says he's never seen more than one or two in the area
Residents of a remote Alaska village have been spotting Pacific walrus in unusual places.
Hundreds of walrus were photographed last month on the Alaska Peninsula, the land mass that juts out toward the Aleutians.
Port Heiden Tribal Council President John Christensen, Jr. says he was out for a beach ride on his four-wheeler and photographed about 200 walruses on a beach.
He says he's never seen more than one or two in the area.
Two weeks later, Christensen saw more than a thousand walruses gathered about 32 kilometres outside the village.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Joel Garlich-Miller says male walruses traditionally spend summers near Bristol Bay about 209 kilometres to the north.
He says the animals may be looking for new areas to forage.
