TACOMA, Wash. — A 3,100-pound (1400-kilogram) walrus named Dozer who enthralled visitors the last seven months at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Washington state is leaving at the end of this month.
Officials at the zoo in Tacoma say Dozer mated with three female walrus and is being sent to another zoo for the same duties as part of the Walrus Conservation Consortium's plan to aid the species in aquariums and the Arctic.
Zoo officials declined to say where Dozer is going.
Dozer is known for his unmistakable whistle and swimming up to visitors at an underwater viewing area.
Zoo spokeswoman Kris Sherman says a walrus has never been born at the zoo but that could change. But officials won't know if Joan, Basilla or Kulu are pregnant until this fall.