Walruses

Type:Mammal

Diet:Carnivore

Average life span in the wild:Up to 40 years

Size:7.25 to 11.5 ft (2.2 to 3.5 m)

Weight:Upto1.5 tons (1.4 metric tons)

Group name:Herd

Protection status:Endangered

Habitat:Russia,coastal areas from northeastern to Alaska.          

                                                                                                                                       

                

 Appearance-The Walrus's skin is dark brown and wrinkled with little stiff hairs sticking out.Young calves usually have more hair then adults. A walrus's skin is very tough and thick and a polar bear must work very hard to chew through the skin of a dead walrus for food. Walruses molt their skin. Walrus tusks can be very big. Male tusks can be up to 4 ft. and females can be up to 2 ft. Adult males weigh 900 kg. and measure about 3.1m. Female adults weigh about 560 kg. and measure about 2.6m. The Pacific walrus is slightly bigger than the Atlantic. A Walrus is actually an overgrown seal.Walruses are surrounded with wiskers and they smell their food around them with their whiskers. A walruses eyes are very small and it's head looks like it's too big for it's body.

Habitat-Most walruses live in the Alaskan Sea, the Chuckuchi Sea, Bristol Bay, the Bering Sea, the Atlantic and Pacific Sea, the Arctic Sea, Rocky shores, icefloats and icecaps. Most walruses migrate in the spring and fall so they can follow the food.

Food-Most Walruses eat worms, snails, crabs, clams, seals, shellfish and mussels. Walruses can eat 3,000-6,000 lbs. at both of their 2 meals every day. Some Walruses also eat seals and small whales. The way walruses find food is they anchor them selves at the bottom of the ocean with their tails and then blow all the dust away so they can find food with their whiskers.

Enemies-The walruses enemies are ice, killer whales, people and polar bears. Ice is it's enemy because it can slip on it. The killer whale and the polar bears are the only animals that can chew through it's tough skin. A polar bear must work hard to chew through the a dead walrus's skin so he can eat his insides for food. Walruses are hunted for their skins by hunters from Norway, Russia, Great Britan, Greenland, Canada and the United States of America. Walruses will dive into the water at the slightest human scent.

Life Cycle-Walrus babies are called calves. They stay with their mother for 2 years. Calves are born every three years during May or June. When the calf's born it's a grayish silver but quickly turns to brown. When calves are born they weigh 85-150 lbs. Breeding occurs in February or March but the fetus dosnt start to grow till June. The mother walrus stores the milk in the fat parts of its body the first year after the calf is born. This helps the calf grow well. Most walruses live 16-30 years. Calves born approximately every three years are nursed upside down. Air sacks in female walrus's necks help them to nurse with their heads out of the water.

The mustached and long-tusked walrus is most often found near the Arctic Circle, lying on the ice with hundreds of companions. These marine mammals are extremely sociable, prone to loudly bellowing and snorting at one another, but are aggressive during mating season. With wrinkled brown and pink hides, walruses are distinguished by their long white tusks, grizzly whiskers, flat flipper, and bodies full of blubber.

Walruses use their iconic long tusks for a variety of reasons, each of which makes their lives in the Arctic a bit easier. They use them to haul their enormous bodies out of frigid waters, thus their "tooth-walking" label, and to break breathing holes into ice from below. Their tusks, which are found on both males and females, can extend to about three feet (one meter), and are, in fact, large canine teeth, which grow throughout their lives. Male walruses, or bulls, also employ their tusks aggressively to maintain territory and, during mating season, to protect their harems of females, or cows.

The walrus' other characteristic features are equally useful. As their favorite meals, particularly shellfish, are found near the dark ocean floor, walruses use their extremely sensitive whiskers, called mustacial vibrissae, as detection devices. Their blubbery bodies allow them to live comfortably in the Arctic region—walruses are capable of slowing their heartbeats in order to withstand the polar temperatures of the surrounding waters.

The two subspecies of walrus are divided geographically. Atlantic walruses inhabit coastal areas from northeastern Canada to Greenland, while Pacific walruses inhabit the northern seas off Russia and Alaska, migrating seasonally from their southern range in the Bering Sea—where they are found on the pack ice in winter—to the Chukchi Sea. Female Pacific walruses give birth to calves during the spring migration north.

Only Native Americans are currently allowed to hunt walruses, as the species' survival was threatened by past overhunting. Their tusks, oil, skin, and meat were so sought after in the 18th and 19th centuries that the walrus was hunted to extinction in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and around Sable Island, off the coast of Nova Scotia.

Male walruses enjoy making sounds for females. The scientific name for the walrus is Odobenus Rosmarus Divergens. Some walruses migrate more than 3,000 km. a year to follow the food. Walruses are called pinnepeds sometimes. Male walruses are called bulls and females are called cows.

Did you know?

The walrus' scientific name, Odobenus rosmarus, is Latin for "tooth-walking sea-horse."