This walrus was found by a local fisherman and reported by LEO Network to the US Fish and Wildlife Walrus Hotline. The carcass is thought to be too old for necropsy or sample collection.

Near Nome, reports of seal pups and walrus calves hauled out on beaches are piling up at an unprecedented rate.

"When we looked over the side of the boat, we saw clumps of mussels floating up the whole Tuksuk channel. No one has ever heard of something like this before."

Three of the walruses had low to moderate levels of saxitoxin, while the fourth one had high levels.

When scientists found that Alaska sea otters were exposed to a sometimes-deadly virus that plagues seals in the North Atlantic, they were puzzled. Phocine distemper virus had not been previously found in Alaska waters.