Walrus
July 2014
TLDR Anesthetizing walruses is difficult and risky due to their size and sudden health changes.
Walruses were challenging to anesthetize due to their large size, limited vascular access, and tendency for sudden physiological changes during chemical restraint, making them high anesthetic risks. The two subspecies, Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) and Pacific walrus (O. rosmarus divergens), required careful monitoring of cardiovascular and respiratory functions before drug administration. Anesthetic drugs, including meperidine, potent opioids with or without alpha-2 agonists, and dissociative anesthetics like tiletamine, ketamine, and propofol, had to be administered intramuscularly and from a distance, whether the walrus was in captivity or the wild.
