The walrus fled because of the ice melt in the north pole

Thousands of walruses suddenly appear on the northwest coast of Alaska (USA). This is a sign that the Arctic environment is changing dramatically by the greenhouse effect.

Chad Jay, a US Geological Agency's walrus researcher, said about 3,500 walruses gather near Icy's nose and on the Chukchi Sea. In addition, they are present at Lisburne Cape (about 240 km from Chukchi coast).

For many years, the walrus went ashore in the fall to migrate south, but never before did it move early and in large numbers like this year. ' They went ashore early in 2007 due to the decrease in the ice area on the continental shelf ,' Jay told the AP.

In 2007, scientists were stunned to see about 6,000 walruses on the Alaska coast.

The hippocampus swims into the Alaska coast on September 9.(Photo: AP)

Alaska authorities and researchers are concerned that the presence of too many walruses in one area may lead to stampede and lack of food. If the Arctic ice sheet continues to melt, their early migration will continue in the coming years.

Unlike seals, walruses cannot swim continuously. They must rest often during migration to feed. Walruses often stand on ice shelves to hunt in shallow waters near the continental shelf. They can dive as deep as 200 m to catch mussels and some other marine animals, but they often feed in waters with a depth of not more than 100 m. When the ice on the continental shelf dissipates, they are forced to feed outside the continental shelf - where the depth of water can reach 3,000 m.

On land, walruses cannot dive deep to catch prey. That situation can cause them to fall into malnutrition.

The American Center for Biodiversity wants to put the Pacific walrus on the list of endangered animals due to the narrow living environment.