"Walruses are facing a 'death sentence' after the Trump administration declined last month to list the Pacific walrus as endangered, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

The conservation group, which took legal action starting in 2008 to get walruses on the list, says the White House's decision puts the species in a dire state as it confronts the effects of climate change.

Chad Jay, who leads the walrus research program at the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center, tells Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson that walruses are dealing with a loss of their habitat due to sea ice melt."

Samantha Raphelson reports for NPR November 2, 2017. [2]