Spot walruses from your sofa

Image: naturepl.com / Tony Wu / WWF

Thousands of volunteers are being asked to join the search for walruses - from the comfort of their own homes.

Conservation charity WWF and researchers from British Antarctic Survey are seeking the public’s help to study thousands of satellite images for their Walrus from Space project.

Aspiring conservationists around the world can search the satellite pictures online, spot areas where walrus haul out onto land, and then count them. The data collected in this census of Atlantic and Laptev walrus will give scientists a clearer picture of how each population is doing in the face of climate change.

It is hoped half-a-million citizen scientists worldwide will join the research project over the next five years, using high-resolution images provided by space and intelligence company Maxar Technologies’ DigitalGlobe. The images capture walrus congregated on more than 25,000km2 of Arctic coastline - an area larger than Wales.

Walrus use sea ice for  resting  and to give birth to their young, but are facing the reality of the climate crisis: their Arctic home is warming almost three times faster than the rest of the world and roughly 13% of summer sea ice is disappearing per decade.

As sea ice diminishes, more walrus are forced to seek refuge on land, congregating for the chance to rest. Overcrowded beaches can have fatal consequences; walrus are easily frightened, and when spooked they stampede towards the water, trampling one another in their panic.  Resting on land as opposed to ice may also force walrus to swim further and expend more energy to reach their food - food which in turn is being negatively impacted by the warming and acidification of the ocean.

Hannah Cubaynes, research associate at British Antarctic Survey, said: “Assessing walrus populations by traditional methods is very difficult as they live in extremely remote areas, spend much of their time on the sea ice and move around a lot. Satellite images can solve this problem as they can survey huge tracts of coastline to assess where walrus are and help us count the ones that we find.

“However, doing that for all the Atlantic and Laptev walrus will take huge amounts of imagery, too much for a single scientist or small team, so we need help from thousands of citizen scientists to help us learn more about this iconic animal.”

Rod Downie, chief polar adviser at WWF, said: “It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of the climate and nature emergency but this project enables individuals to take action to understand a species threatened by the climate crisis, and to help to safeguard their future.”

Aspiring conservationists can help protect the species by going to wwf.org.uk/walrusfromspace where they can register to participate, and then be guided through a training module before joining the walrus census.

The minimum recommended age for participating without adult supervision is 10 years old.

Walrus facts

Walrus can live up to 40 years and weigh over 1.5 tonnes.

They have a layer of fat - or blubber - of 5-7cm to help keep them warm.

The scientific name of the walrus, odobenus rosmarus, means 'tooth walking sea horse'.

Walrus have many whiskers on their snout, which are highly sensitive, and help them find food on the sea floor. They use their tusks as a sledge when feeding on the ocean floor, foraging mainly for clams.

"We need help from thousands of citizen scientists"

Hannah Cubaynes, British Antarctic Survey
Image: Richard Barrett / WWF-UK
Image: Paul Nicklen/National Geographic Stock / WWF-Canada
Image: 2020 Maxar Technologies