Thousands of walruses abandon ice for Alaska shore http://www.usatoday.com/weather/environment/2007-10-05-alaska-walrus_N.htm In a Warming Bering Sea, Whither the Walrus? http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5357899 Walruses Prefer Right to Left Flipper http://dsc.discovery.com/news/afp/20031027/walrus.html Toothwalkers: Giants of the Arctic Ice http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/toothwalkers/ The Walrus and The Carpenter http://www.jabberwocky.com/carroll/walrus.html This past April, scientists attached satellite tags to eight walruses in West Greenland in an effort to learn more about the effects of climate change. There is a definite connection between walruses, ice and climate and scientists hope that by continuing to track walruses via satellite more can be discovered. While the scientists tagged eight walruses, a few tags failed almost immediately but a few were sending signals through the summer. This past month the last working satellite tag stopped signaling. In addition to learning more about the effects of climate change, scientists involved in the study hoped to uncover where walruses migrate. Walruses need thick ice and as temperatures rise in the spring and summer they head north to colder climates, but the exact location of their summer hideaway has long been a mystery. The information gleaned from this study could also impact walrus hunting quotas. Walrus hunting is still allowed in Greenland and Canada where they are hunted for their ivory and meat. Scientists hope to gain information about the connection between walrus populations as well as to better understand what is necessary to maintain a sustainable population. Despite the early loss of some tags and the difficulties in tracking walruses, the team was pleased with the results and hopes to run the tagging experiments over a number of years. Dr. Born, a member of the team, added "When you look around the world, there are not a whole lot of walrus researchers, and I think one reason is that walruses are just such a difficult animal to study." The first link will take users to an article from BBC News which talks about the last of the satellite tagged walruses and the research accompanying the project. The second link leads to a piece from the USA Today which discusses how climate change may be affecting Alaskan walruses. In the third link users will find Alaska Public Radio's Annie Feidt's fine piece on climate change in the Bering Sea and its effects on walruses. The fourth link is from Discovery News and discusses the recent science behind determining whether walruses (as well as other creatures) are primarily righties or lefties. Moving on to the fifth link, users will be taken to PBS.org's complementary website to their Nature program "Toothwalkers: Giants of the Arctic Ice". Here visitors can watch walrus videos, peruse a plethora of walrus photos and learn more about their habitat, survival and even walruses in captivity. Finally, users can click on the last link to read and enjoy Lewis Carroll's "The Walrus and the Carpenter".