Kochnev said that as haulouts get bigger, walrus deaths have also increased because of walrus stampedes. In 2007 scientists counted more than 3,000 walrus corpses along the Chukchi coast on the Russian side and estimate the total walrus deaths to be close to 10,000. Almost all the fatalities were young animals, crushed in stampedes. Before 2000, Kochnev said, scientists never saw groups of dead walruses like that.
A more immediate worry for the Russian villagers: The walrus haulouts are attracting polar bears, which themselves are being driven onto land because of melting polar ice.
Kochnev said that groups of up to 300 polar bear will hang out around the walrus herds. When those haulouts are close to human habitation, the consequences can be tragic. ... A young girl was killed by a polar bear in Ryrkaypyi in 2006, following two deaths from polar bear attacks in the same town in 2003.
The villagers have established polar bear patrols and are taking steps to protect walrus during haulouts and prevent stampedes, according to The Sounder.
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