This Adorable, Orphaned Baby Walrus Was Rescued by Two Researchers in Alaska. Now, He's Found a New Home in Florida

The scientists were conducting fieldwork on a remote beach in northwestern Alaska when they spotted the roughly 5-month-old calf. The little one, named Annautaq, will not be able to return to the wild because he requires constant human care and will become too habituated to people

Sara Hashemi | Daily Correspondent

November 10, 2026 11:00 a.m.

A baby walrus left an orphan in Alaska has found a permanent home at SeaWorld Orlando after a days-long rescue mission and extensive rehabilitation period.

On September 11, college student Violet Anniskett was conducting research on a remote beach in northwestern Alaska when she saw something completely unexpected between a pair of adult walrus carcasses: a lone calf, alive.

“I was in shock,” she tells Ishani Desai at the New York Times. As part of an internship, she had been surveying the beach with Tony Fischbach, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. The duo was looking for fresh Pacific walrus carcasses that they could sample to test for algal toxins to better understand the animals’ baseline levels.

The researchers quickly requested approval to rehabilitate the roughly 5-month-old male calf—which they named Annautaq (pronounced “ah-NOW-tuq”), after Anniskett’s father—from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the local Inupiaq community, which Anniskett is a member of.

“It’s a big part of our culture that we harvest animals for subsistence living,” she tells Casey Grove at Alaska Public Media. “It was very important for us to ask the community first, and as soon as they decided as a whole, then we’re able to move forward with the steps of saving him through the SeaLife Center.”

Still, there were many steps to come. After receiving the proper permissions, the approximately 185-pound calf had to get to the Alaska SeaLife Center, the state’s only permanent marine mammal rehabilitation facility, more than 800 miles away in the southern city of Seward. Stormy weather conditions meant that they couldn’t move the hefty, little walrus for days, leaving the two researchers to care for Annautaq on their own as predators loomed large.

“When we found him, a determined flock of gulls was intent on scavenging him. He was in immediate peril of suffering this fate had we not gotten approval to intervene. Two polar bears were also active on the island,” Fischbach says in a statement.

The two researchers guided Annautaq to an abandoned building that could shelter him from hungry onlookers and stayed there with him for nearly four days. Walrus calves rely solely on their mother’s milk, but Anniskett and Fischbach didn’t have any formula on hand. So, they fed him a mixture of honey and water, reports the Times.

There, the walrus cuddled with Fischbach in his sleeping bag. Anniskett was a bit fearful of the creature at first but eventually warmed up to him. And he struggled to go to sleep without one of them nearby.

“I remember once he was falling asleep, and he kept trying to go to me, and I would move a little bit until he realized, and he just put his snout on my leg, kind of, and he fell asleep,” Anniskett tells Alaska Public Media. After that, she got up and moved behind Annautaq, but he suddenly opened his eyes.

“He looked and saw I wasn’t there. Then, he picked his head up and started going, ‘hoo, hoo,’” she says. “And then, he looked behind and saw me and just turned around and went back to sleep.”

Annautaq finally made it to the local airport with the help of community members and researchers. He had to be moved into a heavy-duty kennel to board the plane—something he wasn’t a fan of.

“He was really upset, because he had no idea what we were doing with him,” Anniskett tells Alaska Public Media.

On September 14, the calf arrived at Alaska SeaLife Center dehydrated but overall in good condition. He had superficial wounds that were treated with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medication, and then the hard work of rehabilitation started.

Pacific walrus calf care is quite demanding. The animals have one of the strongest and longest mother-child bonds of all pinnipeds, staying together for one to two years, according to the statement. For comparison, harbor seal pups stay with their mothers for about four to six weeks before venturing off on their own.

Because close social contact with their mother is so important, walrus calf caretakers essentially act as surrogates, providing around-the-clock physical contact, social interaction, feeding support and veterinary care.

While Annautaq responded well to rehabilitation, USFWS determined that the calf could not be released into the wild because he would become so used to interacting with people. Experts chose SeaWorld Orlando as his permanent home, where he will serve as an ambassador for his species, according to a statement from the park. He’s now there receiving up to six bottle feedings per day and weighs around 250 pounds, per the Times.

This month, he cleared his quarantine period and is gradually being introduced to his herd. He recently met Uki, a 2-year-old walrus that was also rescued from Alaska. The two bopped noses through a protective barrier, marking the start of a new journey.

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• More about:
• Alaska
• Animals
• Baby Animals
• Biology
• Florida
• Mammals
• Pacific Ocean
• Wildlife