Nugget – pure gold

This adorable little (157-pound) walrus lives at Seward’s SeaLife Center. He was rescued in Nome when he was only two weeks old, sick and half-starved, wandering around town rummaging through trash cans–not for food but for shelter. Apparently his mom is gone, so he was transported to the SeaLife Center where he will be taken care of for the rest of his life. Unfortunately he will never be able to be released into the wild; he was abandoned at too young an age.

Although the Center hasn’t named him (his official name is OR1701), people are starting to call him Nugget. We think that’s very appropriate, as he hails from Nome–site of one of the major gold discoveries in Alaska. And he looks like a little golden nugget.

Nugget with his “hugger”

Until he is two years old, Nugget will have round-the-clock, dedicated “huggers” working in four-hour shifts. He’s on walrus formula, 1.4 liters every three hours. He misses the warm jacuzzis he had when he first arrived at the Center, and now his caretakers have to coax him into his 57-degree “bay.” So sad to consider that Nugget will grow up without a natural mother, but the SeaLife Center is giving him a life as close to nature as is humanly possible. And he’s alive.

Thank you, Seward SeaLife Center, for all your hard work on Nugget’s behalf.

“C’mon, Nugget. Let’s go for a swim.”