Federal authorities are investigating the case of the 25 walruses killed at a beach located near Cape Lisburne in Alaska. Photographs taken at the crime scene display a gruesome array of dead walruses which include a dozen of babies that were not only shot, but also beheaded, Newsweek reported.
The spokeswoman from the Alaskan Regional Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, Andrea Medeiros, said that the agents were notified of the slaughter on Wednesday through an e-mail with photos of the 25 dead walruses attached. The sender detailed that the animals were killed 50 miles north of Point Hope which is located inside the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.
"The report stated that there were about 25 walruses killed, including about 12 babies," Medeiros said, according to the Alaska Dispatch News. "They were reporting that these animals had been shot, and their heads had been taken."
Poachers may have killed these 25 walruses for their heads and tusks: https://t.co/8rcnM2DLe4 pic.twitter.com/kbVAT3sQw3
— VICE News (@vicenews) September 24, 2015
The agents immediately took off, but arrived in the area only on Thursday because of the bad weather.
"Time is of the essence in a case like this," Medeiros added. "You have to get out there and look at the animals, because you have animals that can feed on these carcasses and crime scenes can be damaged by natural feeding."
The beheading of these walruses indicates that the reason could be poaching for ivory or their skulls. A second of group of dead walruses were also found last week, but 37 of these animals might have died from natural reasons, such as the extended exposure to harsh the seas, or separation of the babies from their mothers, Washington Times reported.
"We haven't had a chance to go out there and confirm whether they're from this year or last year or identify the cause of death," according to the supervisory biologist and walrus specialist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, James MacCracken, Ecowatch reported.
