Baby Walrus Orphan Getting Round-the-Clock Cuddles to Save Its Life

Attentive ocean wildlife staffers in Alaska are giving a rescued baby walrus tender loving care 24 hours a day to save his life.

The rare Pacific walrus calf, just a month old, was discovered alone on Alaska's North Slope, approximately four miles inland from the Beaufort Sea, the Alaska SeaLife Center said in a statement last week.

Walruses are "highly tactile and social animals, receiving near-constant care from their mothers during the first two years of life," noted the center, located in Seward.

“With no adults in the vicinity, it was apparent that the wayward calf would not survive long without intervention," it added.

So now SeaLife staffers are attempting to fill in for the calf's mother, "following a 24-hour care regimen, which is more demanding than many other marine mammals require," the center reported.

"To emulate this maternal closeness, round-the-clock ‘cuddling’ is being provided to ensure the calf remains calm and develops in a healthy manner," it explained.

Calves tend to habituate quickly to human care, and the staff has reported that the little walrus is already consuming formula from a bottle.

The calf, which already weighed in at 200 pounds when rescued, was dehydrated, lacking nutrition, and suffering from a cloudy eye when first examined, according to the center. It may also be fighting an infection, initial blood tests indicate.

Little is known about Pacific walruses. So little data has been gathered on them that it's difficult to even determine if they're an endangered species, according to the nonprofit Defenders of Wildlife. 

But the pinniped marine mammals are threatened by climate change.

They need Arctic sea ice throughout the year to breed, nurse calves, and travel, and rest when they dive for food. Their survival is at risk because of rapid loss of ice due to global warming, according to the Endangered Species Coalition.