A 220-Pound Baby Walrus Named ‘Axe’ Still Gets Up to 6 Bottles a Day

A five-month-old Pacific walrus calf found alone on a remote Alaska beach in September has landed in a place few walruses ever see: Orlando, Florida. He weighs about 220 pounds, he gets up to six bottle feedings a day, and he is under round-the-clock care while he waits to meet his new herd.²⁵

His name is Annautaq, and he very nearly didn’t make it. His rescue took a remote Alaska community, a walrus biologist, a college student, an Alaska rehab center and a Florida theme park working together.¹

A find no one expected

The calf was found near Point Lay by Tony Fischbach, a walrus biologist with the US Geological Survey, and Violet Anniskett, an Iḷisaġvik College student from Point Lay. The two were taking samples from fresh walrus carcasses to test for harmful algal toxins.¹³

A walrus herd had left the beach during heavy surf. The calf was tucked between the older remains of two adult walruses, something Fischbach had not seen in more than 10 years of working with walrus herds at the site. Scavenging birds were already going after the calf, and rescuers said he was unlikely to survive on his own.¹²⁶

According to KTUU, the rescuers sheltered him through a three-day Arctic storm before an 800-mile journey brought him to the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, where he arrived on September 14.³¹ The Native Village of Point Lay and community members backed the rescue, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service approved it.¹⁸

Anniskett named him Annautaq (pronounced “ah-now-tuq”), the Iñupiaq word for “axe,” in honor of her father’s Iñupiaq name.³

Why he can’t go back

In Seward, staff found a calf of about 200 pounds who was dehydrated but alert and otherwise in good shape.⁶ He was the 12th orphaned Pacific walrus the center has treated since it opened in 1998.³

Returning him to the wild was not an option. The US Fish and Wildlife Service determined he could not be released. Pacific walrus calves depend on their mothers for milk, protection and learned behaviors through their first year. The Alaska SeaLife Center also pointed to how used to people he had become.²⁸

“Annautaq’s story shows why having specialized marine mammal rehabilitation capacity in Alaska is so important,” Jane Belovarac, wildlife response curator at the Alaska SeaLife Center, said, as quoted by Good News Network.²

A long trip south

That left the question of where a walrus can live, and the list is short. SeaWorld Orlando is one of only four US institutions currently able to house walruses.² The park sent animal care and veterinary staff with walrus experience to Alaska to help look after him and prepare him for the trip to Florida, which SeaWorld put at roughly 4,000 miles. FOX 35 reported it as 4,800.²⁷

He is now in a planned 30-day quarantine with veterinary care and 24-hour support.⁵ After that, he will be slowly introduced to the park’s resident walruses: Garfield, Kaboodle and Uki. Uki is a 2-year-old rescued walrus who also went through rehab at the Alaska SeaLife Center, so the newcomer and one of his herdmates share a former address.⁴

“As he settles in, we’ll make introductions to Garfield, Kaboodle and Uki at his pace,” said Jim Kinsler, a curator at SeaWorld Orlando, as quoted by Good News Network.²

“Getting Annautaq to this point took an incredible network of people, and we’re proud the ASLC could provide the specialized care that helped carry him from rescue in Alaska to his next chapter,” Belovarac said, as quoted by Laughing Place.⁴

Annautaq is expected to serve as an ambassador for his species, helping visitors learn about the challenges Pacific walruses face in the wild.²