Pacific Walruses Fight to Survive in the Rapidly Warming Arctic

By Kiley Bense

There’s a moment about five minutes into the critically-acclaimed 2022 documentary short “Haulout,” which was nominated in January for an Oscar, that feels like a scene from a horror movie. The screen snaps from a shot of wild landscape into total black; floorboards creak under the weight of solitary footsteps; and wind howls as if through a tunnel. Strange, feral sounds grow in the darkness. A headlamp is switched on, illuminating Maxim Chakilev, a marine biologist, who is sitting at a bare table. Only his hands and the sleeves of his sweater are visible in the lamp’s white glare.