Walrus | Facts & Information

Origin

Walrus is the only species in the family Odobenidae and genus Odobenus. There are three species of walrus: The Atlantic walrus (found in the Atlantic Ocean), the Pacific walrus (found in the Pacific Ocean) and Rosmarus Laptev (found in the Laptev Sea). The walrus had an important role in the time of the indigenous peoples.

This was hunted for meat, fat, skin, fangs and bones. In the 19th and early 20th century walrus were the object of commercial exploitation for fat and Ivory so intensively that their numbers declined very quickly and greatly.

Their worldwide population has recovered but the historic massacre remains.

The name of the animal has varied over time with different combinations of: whale, horse, shore and giant. It eventually came to a common name, meaning "horse Whale". The coincidence of the Latin word (Mors means death) gave it an air of a killer creature.

Analyzes indicate that walruses have ancestors that lived 15-20 million years ago.

Walrus Food

Walruses prefer forage on the seabed around ice platforms.

They don't go down to great depths, at most 80m. they can stay underwater for half an hour. Walrus has a diverse diet, feeding on more than 60 genera of marine organisms that include: shrimp, crabs, worms, soft corals, sea cucumbers, various mollusks, etc.

They prefer mollusks and especially clams. Sensitive whiskers help identify prey. In addition to the large number of organisms consumed by the walrus it helps, when searching for food on the seabed, to release nutrients into the water column.

Appearance Walrus

Pacific males weigh about 2000kg, while the rest of the walruses reach weights between 800 and 1800kg. Females weigh two-thirds the weight of males.

The Shape of the body is similar to that of sea lions. Walruses, although they have lower hind limbs as one, can walk on all fours. They have no external ears.

The most prominent feature of the walrus are its long fangs. These are the elongated canines present in both sexes and can reach a length of one meter.

The tusks weigh over 5kg. In males the FANGs are somewhat longer and thicker. Usually males with the strongest fangs dominate groups.

The tusks are also used as a third hand when they emerge from the water onto the ice. It was originally thought that walruses used their tusks to remove prey from the sea floor, but it seems that they are used for digging.

Walruses have a maximum number of teeth of 38. They generally have 50 of them. Around the FANGs walrus has characteristic whiskers. This is 13-15 rows of whiskers up to 30 cm long. Besides whiskers, the body does not have too many hairs so there can be no talk of a fur.

We can say that she is bald. The skin is 9-10 cm thick around the neck and shoulders. The layer underneath is 15cm thick. The color of the young is brown, but with time of aging it opens becoming light brown.

Old walruses open so much that they tend to turn pink. The walrus has an air sac under its neck. Males have a bony penis that can reach 63cm in length, surpassing any land animal.

Walrus Behavior

Starting in late summer walruses gather forming massive clumps of tens of thousands of individuals on beaches or rocks. Migration takes long distances and can sometimes end dramatically.

Several hundred thousand Pacific walruses migrate from the Bering Sea to the Chucki Sea through the Bering Strait. At the 1990 census there were about 200,000 Pacific walruses.

Atlantic walruses almost disappeared from the face of the Earth. It is difficult to get an estimate, but their population is thought to be below 20,000.

Due to its large size, The Walrus has only two natural predators: the orca and the polar bear. However, the polar bear is more likely to hunt injured individuals, Cubs,or young. A wounded adult walrus is an adversary to the size of the polar bear. Direct attacks are rare.

The walrus plays an important role in the religion and folklore of the Arctic peoples. Skin and bones are used in ceremonies animals appear frequently in Legends. In one of them, a walrus retrieves the sun and Moon from an evil spirit by seducing its daughter.

The nervous father throws the girl off a high cliff, and she upon reaching the first drops of water turns into a walrus.

Walrus Breeding

Walruses live about 20-30 years in the wild. Males reach sexual maturity at age 7, but do not mate until age 15.

Females "open "the mating season at the end of summer and" close " it in February. Males are only fertile in February. The fact is that mating takes place from January to March.

The males approach the groups in heat and mating takes place in the water. The gestation period lasts 15-16 months the Cubs are born during the primagara migration, generally from April to June. At birth they weigh 45-75kg.

They are able to swim after birth.