Haulout

3/22/2024

In Chukota on the Siberian Arctic sea, a rusted old wreck sits abandoned on the beach. Nearby, we meet a lone scientist who has come to this remote location amidst the dense September fog to witness a natural phenomenon. Fortunately, he has the shelter of a wooden shack - for he must wait longer and look at books that depict what has gone on here in years gone by. He forages for fuel to keep out the encroaching chill on the wind. Still no sign. Then he is awoken from his sleep by a sound. The noise of an whole herd of walruses that have come to call. Well to breed on the beach actually - and they are crowding around his little hut twenty-deep. Their huge mass could reduce it to rubble in moments - but it's as if it's their beacon and they appear quite timid towards him... He heads to the r