Annautaq the Rescued Walrus Calf Clears Quarantine at SeaWorld Orlando and Bops Noses With Uki
The newest walrus at SeaWorld Orlando is starting to meet the neighbors. Annautaq, the orphaned Pacific walrus calf who arrived from Alaska this fall, has cleared his quarantine and recently met Uki, the herd's 2-year-old, with the two of them bopping noses through a protective barrier.
Smithsonian Magazine reported the update on Tuesday, November 10, in a story that embeds a SeaWorld Orlando Instagram reel. According to Smithsonian, Annautaq "cleared his quarantine period" this month "and is gradually being introduced to his herd."
Meeting the herd
Like Annautaq, Uki is an Alaska rescue who went through rehab at the Alaska SeaLife Center, and Kaboodle, the herd's experienced mother, served as her surrogate. When SeaWorld announced Annautaq's arrival on October 21, it said introductions to Garfield, Kaboodle and Uki would happen "at his pace," and that he would first spend a planned 30-day quarantine, as we reported then.
Smithsonian describes the nose-to-nose moment as "marking the start of a new journey." It did not say whether he has met Kaboodle or Garfield yet.
Still on the bottle, and still growing
Annautaq still gets up to six bottle feedings a day and now weighs around 250 pounds, according to the New York Times, as cited by Smithsonian. That is up from the roughly 185 pounds Smithsonian says he weighed after his rescue in September, and from the approximately 220 pounds SeaWorld gave when it announced his arrival in October.
How he got here
On September 11, college student Violet Anniskett and U.S. Geological Survey wildlife biologist Tony Fischbach found the calf alive between two adult walrus carcasses on a remote beach in northwestern Alaska, Smithsonian reports. "When we found him, a determined flock of gulls was intent on scavenging him," Fischbach said in a statement quoted by the magazine.
Bad weather kept the calf from being flown out for days. The two researchers sheltered him in an abandoned building for nearly four days, feeding him honey and water, before he reached the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward on September 14. Anniskett named him after her father. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service later decided he could not be released, and SeaWorld Orlando became his permanent home.
When can you see him?
As of publication, no public viewing date has been announced. In October, SeaWorld said "the timing of herd introductions and public viewing will be guided by his animal care team," and the November update does not add a date. In the meantime, SeaWorld's October release pointed guests to the park's resident walrus herd in the Expedition Odyssey habitat.
So, walrus fans: how long until Annautaq is out with the herd, and who do you think he bonds with first: Kaboodle (Uki's surrogate mom) or Uki herself?
Sources
- Smithsonian Magazine, This Adorable, Orphaned Baby Walrus Was Rescued by Two Researchers in Alaska. Now, He's Found a New Home in Florida, November 10, 2026
- SeaWorld Orlando, rescued walrus calf press release, October 21, 2026 (PDF)
- Parks Magic, Annautaq arrival report, October 21, 2026
Image credits: SeaWorld Orlando, via Smithsonian Magazine (bottle feeding); SeaWorld Orlando, via Laughing Place (pool edge).
