Walrus Mom and Baby Cuddle | National Geographic

apart from the walrus herd a female
shelters her new prize
it’s her newborn calf sporting an old
man’s mustache just hours old he’s still
trailing his umbilical cord why mother’s
leave the herd to give birth is a
mystery perhaps to get away from the
herds collective smell which attracts
predators perhaps to keep her baby away
from the jostling of Giants oh he weighs
100 pounds to her 1,500 sensitive
whiskers memorize each other’s face the
hungry calf was born on the ice but can
swim and nurse underwater within hours
two weeks later the walras mother still
keeps her calf apart from the herd
nursing greedily he’s packing on a pound
and a half a day another female has
joined the pair and seems to be lending
a hand with parenting duties
whether she’s acting as a nanny or
simply as another pair of weary eyes in
bear country the mother seems content to
have her around still she frequently
hugs her baby in these tactile creatures
contact and reassurance go hand in hand
it will be a while before she lets him
beyond her reach