Ayveq the Walrus
Ayveq (Eye vuk’) is the harem leader, or dominant male, of the Aquarium’s Pacific walrus group. This charismatic giant resides in Sea Cliffs, a rocky ocean-edge habitat inspired by the Pacific walrus’s natural habitat, the Pacific coast from California to Alaska. The two viewing areas of Sea Cliffs, above and below water, offer Aquarium visitors an opportunity to view the marine mammals diving, swimming, and resting on land.
Ayveq arrived at the New York Aquarium in the spring of 1994 as a baby of just a few weeks. A team of aquarium staff had traveled to Alaska to rescue orphaned walrus calves off the waters of St. Lawrence Island. The calves’ mothers were casualties of a subsistence hunt, and the youngsters could not survive on their own. The rescue squad returned to the Aquarium with the big babies in tow. They named one of the females “Kulusiq” (Coo lu soock') —“iceberg” in the native Alaskan Yupiq language. The male they called “Ayveq”—“walrus.”
At that time of his rescue, Ayveq weighed only 150 pounds and could be held in a dog kennel. Now he tips the scales at 2700 pounds! His favorite foods are herring, capelin, and squid. As an enrichment activity, Ayveq can suck the fish from a giant straw—a toy that makes mealtime much more fun. Ayveq has also learned to whistle, wave, salute. His bond with his keepers is very strong, as you can tell from the whiskery kisses he often plants on their cheeks.
In June 2007, Ayveq became father to Brooklyn’s biggest baby, a male calf born to Kulusiq. This historic occasion marked the first birth of a walrus in New York City.
