Summary

Description

This report details the harvest, health, and welfare study of the Pacific walrus Odobenus rosmarus divergens as undertaken at Savoonga, Alaska, on St. Lawrence Island, for the spring of 1982. During the period of 16 April to 10 June, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service USFWS technician was present in the village to determine the size, age and sex composition of the harvest, and to monitor the health of the walrus population through the collection of biological samples. This was the third year that USFWS personnel were stationed in the major walrushunting villages to monitor the harvest. The samples purchased included pairs of lower canine teeth for use in aging, female reproductive tracts as an index to the productivity of the herd, and stomachs to determine prey and prey size. In addition, the technician recorded weather and ice conditions as applicable to the hunt. The study was conducted in cooperation with the Eskimo Walrus Commission EWC. Methods and results are discussed, as well as recommendations. Data forms are attached.