This photo was provided by the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management.  The well-being of walrus is threatened not by a pathogen but by the very real loss of sea ice that is forcing them to swim greater distances to find ice that is appropriate for hauling out and resting.  The overall health of the walruses that I have examined both grossly and histologically has been excellent.

This past summer I was able to collect tissues from 3 subsistence-harvested walruses.  It is more often the case that the hunter will butcher the walrus on a suitable piece of ice, leaving the visceral organs behind and returning with the skin, blubber and meat.  It is so difficult to haul the entire carcass back to town to butcher.  One of the hunters was kind enough to bring the entire carcass back for me to examine.  I was so grateful to the hunter for doing so, as I have never been able to examine all of the visceral organs before!  He was able to do so because it was a young healthy male.

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KBRW is the only station to provide radio programming to the 88,000 square miles that make up the North Slope Borough.  KBRW-AM 680 began br0adcasting on December 22, 1974.  In 1988, KBRW FM 91.9 was added.  In June 2006, 24/7 broadcasting was made available to the world via worldwide streaming.  It is through KBRW that I am able to stay connected with life on the North Slope as well as reading the online version of the Arctic Sounder Newspaper and social networking sites such as Facebook.  The programming mix offered by KBRW is most impressive!  There is a mixture of classical, jazz, bluegrass and new age as well as many NPR programs that I did not even know existed!  KBRW offers the nightly birthday show where people can call in and wish their loved ones a happy birthday.  Religious programming is also broadcast in Inupiaq.  The station also broadcasts community events and meetings.

Our wildlife department did a call-in show about our seal and walrus sampling program in which we communicated to the listeners the objectives of the program, significant findings and plans for the future.

Before the radio show. .. Shown are Billy Adams and Cyd Hanns.  Billy is pretending to be smoking a cigar like a certain

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Here is a photo of one of my favorite people in Barrow, Rosabelle Rexford.  Rosabelle is a very accomplished hunter, butcher and seamstress.  At the young age of 69, she is very efficient at skinning and butchering seals.  She has always been so kind to me and most supportive of my work.

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