Global Warming and the Pacific Walrus
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The petition claims that the potential for increased sea ice melt in the Walrus's Arctic habitat (the Bering and Chuckchi seas) poses a threat to their existence, much the same as the threat facing the Polar Bear.
The basis for their claim is stated as follows:
"The effect of global warming will worsen in this century. Of importance for the Pacific walrus, the best available science indicates the near-complete disappearance of Arctic summer sea ice, including the ice of the Chukchi Sea, by 2030... or even as early as 2012... Winter sea ice in the Bering Sea is predicted to decline by 40% by mid-century... Without sea ice, the Pacific walrus will be forced into a shore-based existence for which it is not adapted, and without question would qualify as an endangered species."
The petition also points out the fact that sea ice loss represents the third in a series of human related threats to Walrus population levels. The first two threats came from large scale walrus hunting of the 19th and early 20th centuries that led to severe population declines. While current population levels are at, or near, their historic highs, the abrupt loss of sea ice habitat raises the possibility of an equally abrupt population decline.
The 2008 Red List assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) reports, "Climate change is expected to have negative consequences for Walruses, and particularly severe consequences for the Pacific subspecies."
© 2009. Patricia A. Michaels