Anchorage Daily News
 

New York's favorite walrus is dead




(09/02/09 14:54:52)

Link: The New York Times Akituusaq, a 2-year-old, 320-pound Pacific walrus born at the New York Aquarium to orphan walruses rescued from St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea and raised at the aquarium, died today of complications from pneumonia. His name, which means "gift given in return" in the Yup'ik language, was selected through a nationwide competition in 2007 that tallied more than 9,000 votes. New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg once said Akituusaq "melted the hearts of millions." The parents of both his father, also deceased, and his mother were killed by hunters.

 


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