In one small North Slope village, the winds of climate change smell like walrus.
"Oooohh, man," said Point Lay tribal administrator Sophie Henry, describing the odor that wafts into town when a sea breeze hits thousands of blubbery, barking walruses camping nearby. "Rotten. It stinks."
Ten times worse than a dog yard, she said. Think pig farm with nearly one-ton pigs.
On Saturday, the animals were about a mile from the town, said Point Lay Fire Chief Bill Tracey. The swarm is massive, estimated at anywhere from several thousand walruses to as many as 20,000 congregating there since late August.
It's the third time in four years that herds of walruses have been spotted on northwest Alaska shores. In that time, the Point Lay haul-out appears to be the largest -- a writhing, groaning example of a phenomenon scientists blame on rising temperatures and melting sea ice.
Retreating sea ice blamed for crowded shores: Walruses | adn.com
"Oooohh, man," said Point Lay tribal administrator Sophie Henry, describing the odor that wafts into town when a sea breeze hits thousands of blubbery, barking walruses camping nearby. "Rotten. It stinks."
Ten times worse than a dog yard, she said. Think pig farm with nearly one-ton pigs.
On Saturday, the animals were about a mile from the town, said Point Lay Fire Chief Bill Tracey. The swarm is massive, estimated at anywhere from several thousand walruses to as many as 20,000 congregating there since late August.
It's the third time in four years that herds of walruses have been spotted on northwest Alaska shores. In that time, the Point Lay haul-out appears to be the largest -- a writhing, groaning example of a phenomenon scientists blame on rising temperatures and melting sea ice.
Retreating sea ice blamed for crowded shores: Walruses | adn.com
