By Yereth Rosen
The Center for Biological Diversity filed the petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, citing the impact of global warming to the icy habitat used by walrus especially nursing mothers and calves that need ice shelves to rest and nurse.
Disappearing sea ice in shallow waters used by walrus to rest and forage for food has forced many of the animals to crowd onto land, Wolf said. On land, they are more at risk from predators and stampedes triggered by noise or other perceived threats.
This lease sale, which drew a record $2.66 billion in high bids including $2.1 billion from Shell, also poses a risk to walrus, according to the petition.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is due to issue its decision sometime this month on whether the polar bear should be listed as threatened.
Pacific walrus are found in the waters between western Alaska and Russia. The global population estimate of Pacific walrus, last issued in 1992 based on the cooperative efforts of U.S. and Soviet scientists, put the population at 200,000.
