**Tears of joy alert!!! "On Alaska's frozen shoreline, oil rig workers made a discovery that stopped them cold—a walrus calf, alone and wailing, separated from his mother in waters over 50 miles away. Most walrus pups don't survive 24 hours without maternal contact. This one had already been crying for days.
The Alaska SeaLife Center team didn't hesitate. They designed something unprecedented: round-the-clock "cuddle therapy." Staff members now work in rotating shifts, bottle-feeding every three hours while cradling the 85-pound infant against their chests, mimicking the constant warmth he'd know from his mother. They hum. They rock. They never leave him alone. The transformation has been miraculous. Within weeks, the calf—who arrives limp and dehydrated—now nuzzles into his caregivers' arms, makes happy chirping sounds, and has gained 12 pounds. He recognizes voices. He reaches for familiar faces. Sometimes survival is just about showing up with love."

Picture of three handlers at Alaska SeaLife Center cuddling with and feeding a walrus pup that was found stranded on the beach near the Slope in northern Alaska. They work in shifts of 3 hours, 24 hours a day.
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