See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Colin Mixson
Brooklyn Daily
The New York Aquarium is leaking — pictures of its new walrus.
That’s right, the Coney Island’s premier marine zoo sent out some fresh shots of its newest resident, the four-month-old Mitik, and boy is he one handsome, mustached walrus.
The sea mammal might be young, but his life has been one big adventure. Mitik was rescued six miles off the coast of Alaska’s North Slope, stranded in the Arctic Ocean; cold, lonely, hungry, and suffering from all sorts of peculiar walrus ailments.
But even better than the new pictures is the little guy’s bill of health, which is A-okay, according to Aquarium officials.
Following his July rescue at the hands of kind-hearted fishermen, Mitik was brought to the Alaska SeaLife Center, where veterinarians there diagnosed the poor walrus with a bladder infection, a high white blood cell count, and a nasty case of dehydration.
But the fine folks out in Alaska did a great job, and Mitik seems to be doing great here in Brooklyn.
Not only is Mitik responding well to the medication he’s been taking, but he’s gaining as much as a half-pound per day thanks to a diet heavy on milk, and already weighs a healthy 242-pounds — almost twice as much as this reporter — according to Aquarium officials.
Pretty good for a four-month-old.
Mitik is still serving his 30-day quarantine, but when that’s up, he’ll join lady walruses Kulu and Nuka in the big pool.
Reach reporter Colin MIxson at cmixson@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4514.rhttp://youtu.be/dAP66R1rnCU