Julie Larsen Maher ©WCS

Kulusiq, “Kulu” to her closest acquaintances, is one proud mama. She’s been protecting and snuggling with her calf, “Akituusaq,” from his earliest moments. According to senior veterinarian Paul Calle, “The most remarkable thing about the birth was that immediately, Kulu was a spectacular mother. Within seconds, she was already caring for the baby and attentive to his needs.”

This spectacular mother has come a long way. Kulu arrived at the New York Aquarium in the spring of 1994 as a baby herself. A team of aquarium staff had traveled to Alaska to rescue orphaned Pacific 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—“iceberg” in the native Alaskan Yupiq language. The male, who would later sire Kulu’s baby, was called “Ayveq”—“walrus.”

Aquarium staff raised the orphans by hand for the first eight months, with bottle-feedings and lots of human company in and out of the water. Later, the little ones joined two older walruses in the Sea Cliffs exhibit. This social group proved to be just the right mix for the newbies to thrive.