Dmitriy Don
Walrus
Walruses, Russia, 2023
Category - Polar Wonders
Walruses (Odobenus rosmarus) are particularly imposing mammals, generally exceeding 2.50 metres in length and easily weighing more than a tonne. They are by nature gregarious animals, but dense groups of tens of thousands of individuals, known as ‘haulouts’, are being observed with increasing regularity in the Russian Arctic as a result of climate change. Melting ice is threatening their habitat, preventing them from feeding properly and forcing them to stay close to shore for excessively long periods - where they quickly suffer from an acute shortage of food given their concentration in coastal waters.
150-500 mm f/5-6.3 Lens - 1/500 sec at f/10 ISO 800