Pacific Walruses Are Next

The decision to place polar bears on the "threatened" species list is going to open the door to all kinds of abuses in the name of "protecting animals". Here comes the next domino in the chain:

A conservation group gave notice Tuesday that it will sue to force federal action on a petition to list the Pacific walrus as a threatened species because of threats from global warming and offshore petroleum development.

The deadline was May 8 for an initial 90-day review of the petition by the U.S. Department of the Interior, according to Center for Biological Diversity attorney Brendan Cummings.

The group filed the petition in February.

Shaye Wolf, a biologist and lead author of the petition, said Arctic sea ice is disappearing faster than the best predictions of climate models.

"As the sea ice recedes, so does the future of the Pacific walrus," she said.

The conservation group was one of three that successfully petitioned to have polar bears listed as threatened because of sea ice loss caused by global warming, a decision announced May 14 by Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. That listing also followed court action to force deadline decisions.

So, when sea ice declines (and that's in doubt), do the walruses simply say "goodbye cruel world" and sink into the sea to their demise? No, they head to land, and according to some reports I've seen they're showing up in huge numbers on the western shores of Alaska. There's plenty of walruses out there.

In fact, the walrus population on land contributes to... (wait for it)....polar bear feeding! A win-win. Perhaps less ice will actually benefit the poor endangered polar bears!