I will try posting at least one photo today as I experiment with degrading their quality to enable posting.
This is from Walrus Day: yesterday. We took Zodiacs to the shore where there was a huge pile o’ walruses sleeping. Apparently they do not do this to keep warm, as they’re already too warm (the pink skin in the second photograph was explained as the animals having pumped blood to the skin to cool off). No, they are thigmotropic: they like to touch other individuals. This was my first sight of a walrus, just as the previous photo of a polar bear represented my first view of a bear—any bear—in the wild. Our ship, the Ultramarine, is the in the background of the first photo.
Here goes:
Wow! Love it!
Very “cool.” Great photos!
This level of degraded is fine with me. Ship looks to be perfect size..big enough for safety and comfort, small enough not to be overwhelmed by amenities and number of passengers.
Today I learned: thigmotropic
I think the word Jerry meant was “thigmotactic” (might have been hard to hear accurately in wind) . Thigmotropism is the tendency of plants to respond either negatively or positively to touching something, such as when a vine touches something and then curls around it.
Thank you. Two words from one WEIT.
When I looked at thigmotropic’s definition, and thought “Hmm. Makes sense”.
This makes more sense. (I recognized thigma as the root, so didn’t dig beyond a quick look to a dictionary)
Great photos! My understanding is that Walrus are pretty dangerous.
I’m very surprised that they’re so cuddly. Defence against predators maybe?
I forget in whose book I read about this; but they said that Inuit stayed well away from ice floe edges if walrus were around or were suspected of being around. They said that walrus would sometimes burst up from below and haul people under just for the cussedness of doing so. Or because people on the ice annoyed them.
They certainly are not defenceless as individuals. But one taking on a polar bear would be very dangerous, no?
YES!
Jerry is the walrus. Goo goo g’joob!
Lovely – walruses are hard to not appreciate. And expert texpert smoking jokers all agree. hehehe
all the best yon seafarer, we’re boiling down here in Manhattan (like on your trip here).
D.A.
NYC
We saw elephant seals (different Family than Walruses) aggregated like that on a California beach, many dozens of them. They stunk to high heaven, but to each its own I suppose.
those tusks, WOW.
Love the picture of the bear! Wonderful trip, the best
Great pictures! Have fun up North!
However, I do have a question for you.
How should a name such as Szlapak be pronounced? In the United States? In Poland?
Fantastic! I know this is Svalbard, but can you tell us which actual island this is? I’m writing a book on early-17th century exploration (and walrus-hunting!) on Svalbard so it would be interesting to know.