Several hundred Pacific walruses have started to gather on an island off the northwest coast of Alaska — the earliest the animals have been observed leaving the water for the annual ritual, according to federal wildlife officials. 
 
 The walruses started appearing on a barrier island near the village of Point Lay during the first week of August. 
 
 "This is the earliest date yet for the haulout to form," the Alaska Division of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a release. 
 
 Previously, the earliest haulout date on record was Aug. 17, back in 2011, said Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Andrea Medeiros. 
 
 The gathering of the enormous animals near Alaska's Chukchi Sea coastline is the result of retreating sea ice in recent years. 
 
 Walruses typically use floating ice as platforms to rest between dives to forage for food, but summer and fall melt has forced them ashore. The animals haul out about two weeks after the continental sea ice recedes. 
 
 "This year, sea ice has retreated beyond the continental shelf earlier than in previous years," Medeiros said. 
 
 Arctic sea ice extent for July 2017 averaged 3.17 million square miles, the fifth-lowest July in a satellite record spanning nearly four decades, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. 
 
 "It will be important to monitor August 2017, as weather conditions and storm events during this month have been closely related to the seasonal minimum sea ice extent in the recent years," the data center said in an Aug. 3 report. 
 
 A herd of 6,000 Pacific walruses hauled out on the same barrier island last year, but at a much later-than-average date of Oct. 7. 
 
 But after a weekend there, the herd appeared to have moved on, with officials reporting that the animals were likely headed south to coastal haulouts in Chukotka, Russia. 
 
 The big Point Lay gatherings have happened almost every fall since 2007, a year notable for sea ice retreat. 
 
 As with most recent years, the villagers of Point Lay are expressing concern about the potential disturbance to the animals. 
 
 The Fish and Wildlife Service relayed statements from Leo Ferreira III, the tribal council president of the Native Village of Point Lay, addressing the need to protect the walruses from disturbances by aircraft and boats. 
 
 The village does not have the infrastructure to support tourists, Ferreira said. ||||| ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Hundreds of Pacific walruses came ashore to a barrier island on Alaska's northwest coast, the earliest appearance of the animals in a phenomenon tied to climate warming and diminished Arctic Ocean sea ice. 
 
 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday that several hundred walruses were spotted during the first week of August near the village of Point Lay on the Chukchi Sea. Last week, the number had grown to 2,000, said spokeswoman Andrea Medeiros in an email response to questions. 
 
 It's the earliest date for the arrival, known as a "haulout," to form, the agency said. Walruses from now until early fall are expected to use the barrier island and other locations along the coast as resting areas as they move to and from feeding areas. 
 
 Walrus dive hundreds of feet to eat clams on the ocean bottom, but they cannot swim indefinitely. While adult females dive, sea ice gives calves a safe resting place, with plenty of space to see the approach of predators such as polar bears. 
 
 In winter, the southern edge of sea ice is in the Bering Sea. As temperatures warm, ice recedes north all the way through the Bering Strait into the Chukchi Sea. Walruses stay on the edge, and they use the ice as a sort of conveyor belt that continually moves over new ocean bottom. 
 
 With global warming, however, sea ice in recent years has melted much farther north, beyond the shallow continental shelf, over water more than 10,000 feet (3,050 meters) deep. That's far too deep for walruses to reach the ocean bottom. 
 
 Instead of staying on sea ice over the deep water, walruses have come to shore, sometimes gathering in herds of more than 35,000. 
 
 Walruses packed shoulder to shoulder in large numbers face the threat of a stampede. If a herd is startled by a polar bear, hunter, airplane or boat, the animals rush to the safety of the ocean, often crushing smaller walruses. 
 
 Observers from Point Lay told the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service they already have seen three to five dead animals. 
 
 "It was kind of heartbreaking to see that these animals were being wasted this way, in this manner," said Leo Ferreira III, tribal president, in an interview taped by the agency. "We're trying to protect the walruses from disturbance by aircraft, boat, and ship activity in our area." 
 
 The village and the agency actively discourage people flying to the village to photograph the walruses. 
 
 Pacific walruses are hunted for food by residents of Point Lay and other villages. ||||| Several hundred Pacific walrus are hauled out on a barrier island near the village of Point Lay, on the Chukchi Sea coast. 
 
 Listen now 
 
 It’s the earliest such haul out since the walrus first started showing up in 2007 — and may be linked to this year’s rapidly retreating Arctic sea ice. 
 
 Andrea Medeiros is a spokesperson with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She said during this time of year, adult female and young walrus in the region usually haul out on sea ice to rest while feeding. 
 
 “When that ice retreats to the deeper water, they can’t do that,” Medeiros said. “They need a place to rest after they’ve fed, so they will travel to the shore and haul out there to rest in between feeding periods.” 
 
 This year, Medeiros said sea ice in the Chukchi Sea has retreated to the deep water beyond the continental shelf earlier than in the past. The walrus started gathering on the barrier island near Point Lay around August 3. 
 
 As many as 40,000 animals have hauled out on the narrow islands in recent years, putting them at risk for overcrowding. As in the past, Fish and Wildlife and the Village of Point Lay are asking people to stay away from the animals, to avoid causing stampedes. 
 
 Fish and Wildlife is currently deciding whether to list the Pacific walrus under the Endangered Species Act. Environmental groups argue that the loss of sea ice threatens to drive the animals toward extinction. 
 
 Correction: This story previously misspelled Andrea Medeiros’ last name as Madieros.
– Sign of the times? Several hundred Pacific walruses began amassing on an island off Alaska’s northwest coast in the first week of August in what wildlife officials say is the earliest date yet for their annual "haulout." The culprit appears to be shrinking Arctic ice. Walruses tend to head ashore two weeks after warm temperatures cause sea ice to recede too far north for them in the Chukchi Sea. This year, it happened earlier than ever. Walruses typically use sea ice for protection and as a home base, particularly for juveniles, while adults dive to the ocean floor for food. But "when that ice retreats to the deeper water, they can't do that," Fish and Wildlife rep Andrea Medeiros tells Alaska Public Media. For the past several years, a barrier island near Point Lay has served as an alternative home base. Last year, thousands of walruses had arrived there by Oct. 7. This year, however, the haulout was observed beginning on Aug. 3—a full two weeks ahead of the next earliest date observed back in 2011, reports Alaska Dispatch News. Medeiros tells the AP that last week some 2,000 walruses were observed on the island, where they're expected to stay until the fall. Hoping to head north to observe the animals? Officials would rather you not. Not only is it illegal to disturb them, the walruses are known to stampede to the water in response to plane and boat activity in the area, which spells bad news for juvenile walruses.