Walruses in Svalbard, Norway Sep 30, 2024

What"s the perfect thing to do under the midnight sun? If you"re a walrus like the ones in today"s image, the answer might be taking a quick dip with your crew, chowing down on clams and mussels and then sunbathing on a beach or ice floe. Welcome to Svalbard, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean halfway between Norway and the North Pole. Photographed in the waters off Spitsbergen, the largest of the archipelago"s nine islands, these aquatic mammals are year-round residents that are often found in male or female herds. Male walruses can be almost 3-metres long and weigh more than 1,179 kilograms, and during mating season, they use this girth to fight among themselves for dominance over groups of females, called harems.

© AWL Images/DanitaDelimont

palette

Today in History

Giants of the Southern Ocean
Sep 30, 2023Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
Sep 30, 2025Koala in the Great Otway National Park, Australia

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Mar 25, 2025Tolkien Reading Day
Aug 30, 2024International Whale Shark Day
Apr 23, 2025Shakespeare Day
Jan 13, 2024Road to Hana, Maui, Hawaii, USA
Apr 17, 2025Andean cocks-of-the-rock, Ecuador
Mar 9, 2025Kedarkantha, Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand
Feb 23, 2025Mount Fuji Day
Incan ingenuity
Feb 12, 2024Volcán Alcedo giant tortoises
Jul 10, 2025Guru Purnima
Oct 8, 2024World Octopus Day
Where are these spectacular peaks?
A church atop a hill
Hop into Lunar New Year
Nov 13, 2023Serra de Tramuntana, Balearic Islands, Majorca, Spain
Reflecting on Christmas
Masterpiece of acoustic science
Aug 18, 2025Avalanche Lake Trail at Adirondack High Peaks, New York, United States
True masters of the jungle
Jun 13, 2024Registan Square, Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Oct 27, 2023Sligachan Old Bridge, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Aug 26, 2025Sørvágsvatn lake, island of Vágar, Faroe Islands
Jun 5, 2025World Environment Day
Jun 11, 2025Greater flamingos, Lüderitz, Namibia
Mar 7, 2024Roques de Benet, Els Ports Natural Park, Catalonia, Spain
Sep 21, 2023International Day of Peace
May 10, 2024Misool, Raja Ampat Islands, Indonesia
Jan 9, 2025Sossusvlei sand dunes, Namib desert, Namibia
Remembering the Mahatma
Jul 9, 2025Independence Day of the Argentine Republic