Crossbows used to tag walruses

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Scientists made a trek to Round Island off Alaska's coast, where walruses spend their time soaking up the summer sun, and they found exactly what they were looking for: carcasses.

The carcasses, which result from diseases or injuries sustained in fights or falling off cliffs, helped the scientists test a veterinary crossbow that attaches transmitters to the spot between the thick, tough hide and the blubber.

The tests will eventually lead to more accurate population counts that will determine if stocks are healthy.

Chad Jay, a walrus expert with the U.S. Geological Survey in Anchorage, plans to go to Barrow in northernmost Alaska to try out the crossbow.

Scientists are hoping it will be an alternative to drugging the behemoths -- a tricky procedure that too often ends in death.