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Meet Mitik: Brooklyn's New Baby Walrus
By
Jen Carlson
Published Oct 10, 2012
Modified Oct 10, 2012
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Oct 10, 2012
Modified Oct 10, 2012
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New York City is about to get an adorable new resident: Mitik, a 234-pound orphaned baby walrus from Alaska. The 15-week-old is expected to land in New York tomorrow, after travelling here via a jumbo-size crate aboard a FedEx cargo jet, according to the NY Times. Mitik will be accompanied by a veterinarian and a handler, who will deliver him to the New York Aquarium in Coney Island.
In 2009 the aquarium's longtime resident Akituusaq the walrus died, and there are currently two others: "Nuka, 30, an old-timer by walrus standards," and Kulu, a 17-year-old. How will Mitik get along with his new pals? The aquarium's Martha Hiatt, who traveled to Alaska last month, says Mitik is "cuddly" (just look at him with his head in a lap!) "but scrappy—the perfect New Yorker.”
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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