Walruses in Svalbard, Norway 30 Sep 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 3.6 metres long and weigh more than 1,180 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
30 Sep 2023Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, USA
30 Sep 2025Koala in the Great Otway National Park, Australia
30 Sept 2026Male bearded reedling, Norfolk, England

More Desktop Wallpapers:

‘Night shining’ clouds
A prehistoric pavement
A scented sea of purple
4 Apr 2024Red lechwe, Okavango Delta, Botswana
17 Apr 2024Black bear cub emerges into spring
19 Oct 2024International Archaeology Day
Black sands in a tropical paradise
5 Oct 2025World Teachers Day
10 Mar 2026Bláhver, Hveravellir, Iceland
Celebrating an American Icon
A berry merry Christmas
A day for cousins of every stripe
Close to the wind
14 Mar 2026Celebrating Pi Day
World Rivers Day
17 Aug 2024International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend
22 Nov 2025Leshan Giant Buddha, Sichuan, China
6 Sep 2025Rufous hummingbird, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, United States
Why are blackbirds tied to winter?
23 Feb 2024Haghartsin Monastery, Armenia
11 Sept 2026Villefranche-sur-Mer, Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur, France
What are these predators doing?
17 Apr 2026International Bat Appreciation Day
Aug 31, 2023Saguaro cacti, Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona
1 Jan 2025Happy New Year!
5 Jan 2024International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, Harbin, China
11 May 2026Great Barrier Reef from above, Queensland, Australia
17 Jun 2025Maritime forest in Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia, United States
The oldest way to fly
10 Nov 2025Black-tailed prairie dogs, Badlands National Park, South Dakota, USA