A Russian navy boat reportedly sunk during an expedition in the arctic after a walrus attacked it.
Researchers from the Russian Geographical Society were aboard the Altai, a tugboat belonging to the Russian navy’s Northern Fleet, for an expedition in the Franz Josef Land in the Russian Arctic, but had to use a smaller boat to get ashore.
During a landing at Cape Heller in the Russian archipelago, the group had to flee after a female walrus, seemingly protecting its cub, attacked the Russian navy’s rubber landing craft, sinking it, according to a press update from the research society.
The attack appeared to have been prompted after a drone got too close to a group of walruses, particularly a walrus’s cub, on the beach, reported the Barents Observer on Sept. 23.
“Walruses attacked the participating boat,” a press update from the Geographical Society says. “The boat sank, but a tragedy was avoided thanks to the prompt action by the squad leader. All landing participants safely reached the shore.”
The Northern fleet also released a statement about the incident, writing that “group of researchers had to flee from a female walrus, which, while protecting its cubs, attacked an expedition boat.”
Unlike the research group, the navy did not say the landing craft sank, but added that “serious troubles were avoided thanks to the clear and well-coordinated actions of the Northern Fleet servicemembers, who were able to take the boat away from the animals without harming them.”
The Barents Observer reported that no one was hurt.
An adult walrus can weigh up to 2,200 pounds and its tusks alone can weigh up to 12 pounds, according to Walrus World. Walruses have about 400 to 700 whiskers, the website said, adding that although the large animals appear to be furless, “the entire body is covered with a very thin layer of it. The blubber, which is the layers of fat, on a walrus can be more than 4 inches thick.”
