Walrus carcasses are a mystery

An unusually high number of walrus carcasses missing their heads and ivory tusks have washed up on Alaskan beaches this summer.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service doesn’t know whether the dozens of carcasses counted along a 40-mile stretch in Norton Sound are crime-related or whether sloppy hunters are responsible. Pacific walruses are not considered endangered but can be hunted only by Alaska Natives, who are required to use a certain amount of the animal or face fines for being wasteful. In late June and early July, 79 walrus carcasses -- about twice as many as in any year in the last decade -- were counted, said Steve Oberholtzer, a special agent in Anchorage.