It's Friday, I'm a sucker for walrus stories, and two orphaned walruses are getting a new home at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma. That's all you need to know. Now, the pictures.
This is Mitik (on the left, short tusks) and Pakak (long tusks, charming smile).
"Both were rescued as calves by local fishermen off the coast near Barrow, Alaska, in July 2012," according to the folks at Metro Parks. "They were about a month old and in trouble: Pakak got wound up in some fishing nets, while Mitik tried to climb into a boat, according to a spokesperson at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward."
"They were rescued as orphans in the same week. They spent the next three months of their lives together, snuggling with keepers and each other. And now, after seven years, they’ll be together again."
“They vocalize back and forth to each other, and follow each other around the pool,” said Amanda Shaffer, senior staff biologist at Rocky Shores, immediately after Mitik and Pakak arrived yesterday. “They’re obviously really comfortable with each other, and their new home. It will be interesting to watch these young walruses grow up.”
