Nature & Environment

Russian Navy vessel attacked, sunk by walrus

By T.K. Randall
September 28, 2019 ·  3 comments

Walruses can be dangerous. Image Credit: CC BY 2.0 Gary Bembridge The ocean can be a dangerous place - especially when a mother walrus is defending her cubs.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the tugboat Altai had been making its way through the Franz Josef Land archipelago in the northeastern Barents Sea when the incident happened.

The vessel had been on a research mission that involved following the trail of 19th-century explorers Julius von Payer and Karl Weyprecht who had first discovered the islands.According to reports, one of the smaller landing boats was approached and attacked unexpectedly by the hostile walrus while the team was heading to Cape Geller.

While the original military report noted that the boat had remained intact, a Russian Geographical Society report later indicated that it had in fact suffered severe damage and had sunk.

Fortunately nobody was injured and even the walrus and her cubs managed to escape unharmed.

"The polar latitudes are fraught with many dangers," the team wrote.

Source: Live Science | Comments (3)

Tags: Walrus