Scientists rescued a baby walrus from a faraway Alaskan beach
Earth 2.0From: Popular Science · rewritten for kids by Osmo
Read the story
Walrus biologist Tony Fischbach of the U.S. Geological Survey and Ilisaġvik College student Violet Anniskett, who lives in Point Lay, Alaska, found an orphaned male Pacific walrus calf on a remote island beach. In all his years studying walrus herds there, Fischbach had never seen anything like it. They asked the local Inupiaq community and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for permission to care for the calf. The only marine mammal rehabilitation centre in Alaska, the Alaska SeaLife Center, was more than 800 miles away, and stormy weather trapped the team on the island for days. They guided the calf into an abandoned building for shelter while they waited.
Big word
orphaned: Left without a parent to look after you.
Quiz time: circle the right answer
1. Where did the scientists keep the walrus safe from the storm?AIn a boatBIn an empty buildingCIn a cave
2. How far away was the animal hospital?AMore than 800 milesB5 milesCNext door
3. Who did the scientists ask for permission to help the calf?AThe local Inupiaq community and wildlife officialsBA TV channelCNobody
Your turn
Draw the baby walrus safe and warm. Then write three things a baby animal needs to grow up healthy.
My question about this story