Mustachioed babies!
In the One Thing Leads to Another department:
The other day, I posted this photo of a Eastern mud snail,
 |
| Nice schnozzle! |
... and asked what animal it reminded you of. I suggested a camel/zebra cross, but Upupaepops came up with a walrus. So I had to look up walrus pics on Google. And yes, the snail does look like a walrus. Or a walrus looks like the snail; take your pick.
And I came across this video, which I mentioned in the comments, but it's too good to bury there.
A baby walrus, about 4 weeks old, was found abandoned near Barrow, Alaska.
 |
| 'Way up there, at the tip, where the marker is. Google maps. |
At 4 weeks old, he weighed 200 lbs! He was rescued by the Alaska Sea Life Center, and ... just watch the video. (2:18, but if you're impatient, forward to about 1:30 for the cuddliest baby ever!)
More information:
From ZooBorns, with more photos.
And a follow-up report, from Alaska Sea Life.
He is now in the Indianapolis Zoo.
He looked so awkward, trying to walk on two front flippers and dragging his rear, that I had to see how he operated underwater. And I found another baby video (3:51):
 |
| Video from Arkive. Left-click to open in a new tab. Otherwise, it closes this page. |
Very graceful, but those two rear feet (watch for them at 1:43) come as a surprise. The baby nurses, and paddles his mother's belly, like a kitten does. (2:35) Keep on watching to see the parents hugging their child (3:12), just as humans cuddle a baby.
It all makes me wonder; what do walruses think and feel? How like us are they?
Tweet
Posts
4 comments:
Good heavens! The way the adult cuddled the little 'un was amazing. How wonderful.
Walrus have many of the appealing characteristics of Sea Otters, just in a big goofy package.
there is a great You Tube video out of the Pt Defiance Zoo of their old rescue walrus going through his vocalization repertoire
I wonder if you can rent a baby walrus to cure depression. Permanently.
Upup ... "old rescue walrus". That sounds intriguing. I'll have to go searching for that video.
Murr, I don't know, but it would sure work!
Snail, I could see what they meant about walruses being tactile animals. Wonderful is the right word!
Post a Comment