Walruses in Svalbard, Norway 30 Sep 2024

Walruses in Svalbard, Norway

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

More Desktop Wallpapers:

28 Dec 202350 years of the Endangered Species Act
Creating a better world
Alpine grandeur
25 Mar 2026Juvenile manatees, Crystal River, Florida, United States
8 Oct 2025World Octopus Day
10 Apr 2026Black grouse males, Estonia
21 Apr 2025International Dark Sky Week
8 May 2025World Donkey Day
Just a couple of know-it-owls
Peek-a-boo, I see you!
Alps of the sea
28 Aug 2025Great white egret, Hungary
15 May 2025Palace of Westminster, London, England
3 Jan 2024J.R.R. Tolkien Day
30 Jan 2026St Michaels Mount in Marazion, Cornwall, England
27 May 2025Mona Vale rockpool, Sydney, Australia
The fjords of Italy
13 Oct 2024Royal Alcázar of Seville, Spain
28 Apr 2024El Capitan, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas, USA
25 Dec 2023Christmas Day
When life imitates art
Solo on the savanna
20 Jan 2024Macaroni penguins
23 Apr 2024Saint Georges Day
10 Jan 2024Mylopotamos, Thessaly, Greece
1 Feb 2025Königstein Fortress, Saxon Switzerland, Germany
17 Apr 2025Andean cocks-of-the-rock, Ecuador
21 Jan 2026Squirrel Appreciation Day
Hovering over harmonious horticulture
The beauty of intricate carvings