Thursday, August 16, 2007

WIldlife Mystery: Walruses found headless

Alaska Natives are the only people allowed to kill walruses under the law, and they are required to make full use of the carcasses, not just take the ivory tusks. This summer, though, someone appears to be killing on an unusual scale and taking only the heads, presumably for the value of the ivory. One one 40-mile stretch of shoreline, officials have found 79 walruses, all minus their heads. All had been shot. Alaskan agencies and the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service are searching for the poachers, who can be punished severely under Federal law.

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