23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Wildlife
The Walruses of Moffen

Three Atlantic walruses flash their tusks and huddle together for warmth on the island of Moffen. For hundreds of years, Moffen was a whaling site where walruses were hunted almost to the point of extinction in the Svalbard archipelago. In 1952, the Atlantic walrus was listed as a protected species on Svalbard, and since then its numbers have been slowly rebounding. The generation of walruses seen here have never known humans as hunters.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 10.2024
Date Uploaded: 11.2025
Photo Location: Norway
Camera: COOLPIX P1000
Copyright: © Ruth Joffre