A baby walrus, found alone between storms, cuddles into a sleeping bag — and gets a name full of love

On a walrus survey near Point Lay, Alaska, college student Violet Anniskett (Iñupiaq) spotted something move — a five-month-old walrus calf, alone, hurt, and calling softly for its mother. With her community's blessing, she and U.S. Geological Survey researcher Tony Fischbach carried the 200-pound calf to a cabin, where it warmed up by cuddling into a sleeping bag and resting its head on her leg. Locals then boated the calf to Point Lay, and it flew to Anchorage and on to Seward for rehabilitation at the Alaska SeaLife Center. Anniskett named him Annautaq, after her late father. Too young and too people-friendly to return to the wild, he now has a long-term home — and a whole coastline of people rooting for him.

SDG 15 · Life on land — Mechanism: community action