Walrus Haul-Out Climate Stress | Animal Welfare Hub

Pacific walruses are increasingly forced onto land-based haul-outs as sea ice disappears, creating dangerous crowding.

Key Facts

Walruses use sea ice as a platform for resting, nursing, and accessing offshore feeding areas
Arctic sea ice loss forces walruses to haul out on land in massive groups of tens of thousands
Crowded land haul-outs cause stampede deaths — particularly of calves — when animals are disturbed
Reduced access to preferred clam and mussel feeding grounds requires longer, more energy-demanding swims
The Pacific walrus is under consideration for listing under the US Endangered Species Act

Welfare Considerations

Walrus welfare is directly threatened by climate change in ways that affect individual animals through acute and chronic suffering. Stampede deaths from disturbed haul-outs kill calves and adults traumatically. Longer swims to feeding grounds exhaust animals, particularly mothers nursing calves. The loss of sea ice resting platforms forces walruses into less suitable habitats where disease transmission, predation, and energetic demands all increase. These welfare harms are inseparable from the conservation crisis, making climate action the most fundamental walrus welfare intervention.

What You Can Do

Reduce personal carbon footprint to slow Arctic sea ice loss
Support US Endangered Species Act listing for Pacific walrus
Advocate for climate policy that limits warming to protect Arctic ecosystems
Minimize human disturbance of known walrus haul-out sites
Donate to Arctic conservation and climate science organizations