IT'S NOT JUST THE POLAR BEARS ANYMORE.

Experts: global warming killing off Alaskan walruses


Federal experts studying global warming in Alaska are reporting walrus are dying by the thousands every year and they say there's only so much they can do about it.

A walrus expert [a WHAT] for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says dwindling sea ice has led to the deaths of 3,000 to 4,000 walrus last year on the Russian side of the sea that touches Alaska and Russia. She says federal authorities can restrict hunters, ship traffic and offshore oil drilling but they can't "make ice cubes."

A Russian expert says the loss of the same number of walrus this year could be disastrous.

Authorities also say the loss of sea ice will force them to decide within weeks weather to list polar bears as "threatened" under the federal Endangered Species Act.