'Melting sea ice' forces 35,000 walruses to swarm onto Alaskan beach

More than 35,000 walruses have gathered on an Alaskan beach as environmentalists raise the issue of dwindling sea ice.

Scientists have taken photos showing the horde of walruses gathered on a beach near Point Lay, Alaska.

Walruses prefer to use sea ice to rest between hunting sessions, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said photos indicated no sea ice was present in the animals' usual habitat.

Walrus mass movements, known as "haul-outs" are a relatively recent phenomenon, first spotted in 2007.

The World Widlife Fund said the images showed the heavy impact of climate change.

"The massive concentration of walruses onshore - when they should be scattered broadly in ice-covered waters - is just one example of the impacts of climate change on the distribution of marine species in the Arctic," WWF Arctic program managing director Margaret Williams said.

WWF vice president for climate change Lou Leonard said the world was witnessing a "slow motion catastrophe" in the Arctic