Will walruses be the next poster critter for global warming? They may not be quite as cute as polar bears, but they’re equally endangered, according to an environmental group that’s filed a petition seeking protection for the whiskery marine mammal. From Reuters:

The Center for Biological Diversity filed the petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, citing the impact of global warming to the icy habitat used by walrus especially nursing mothers and calves that need ice shelves to rest and nurse.

The walruses are being forced onto land where they’re at greater risk from predators. And their natural habitat is facing disruption from new oil development as well, according to Reuters.

But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a little backed up when it comes to deciding which species are endangered. Required by law to make a decision on the polar bear’s status by January 9th, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced that it needed more time.

No such delays, though, on opening up huge swaths of critical polar bear habitat for oil and gas exploration; while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stalls, the petroleum industry’s charging full speed ahead. On Wednesday, Shell Oil shelled out billions for leases to drill in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northwest shore.

Learn more about the Center for Biological Diversity’s efforts to save endangered species here.