Walrus
Walrus Facts
| Size | 86-140 inches (2.2-3.6 m) |
| Speed | Up to 22 mph (35 km/h) |
| Weight | 880-3,700 pounds (400-1,700 kg) |
| Lifespan | 20-30 years |
| Food | Mussels, snails, crabs |
| Predators | Orcas, polar bears |
| Habitat | Arctic region |
| Order | Carnivore |
| Family | Walrus |
| Scientific name | Odobenus rosmarus |
| Characteristics | Marine mammal with long tusks and tactile hairs |
Main Characteristics
Walruses are large, heavy seals that live in the cold seas around the Arctic circle. Their most eye-catching features are their large, long tusks and long whiskers. They are unable to catch prey using their tusks, as these are too big and unwieldy for that purpose.
Species
There are two species: the Atlantic walrus and the slightly larger Pacific walrus. They're closely related to eared seals and earless seals.
Distribution and Habitat
Walruses are only found in the cold waters of the Arctic circle. They live in the Bering Sea, the Chukchi Sea and in the seas off Greenland, Siberia, Svalbard, Iceland and Canada. Their habitat is drift ice, ice floes and rocky, remote coasts.
Life Style
Walruses spend more than two-thirds of their lives in water. They have no fixed day or night cycle and can stay awake for up to 84 hours. Typically, they nap for just a few minutes, though occasionally they may sleep for up to 19 hours straight. They are very social animals that live in large groups of thousands of animals. They spend most of their time looking for food or resting on an ice floe.
Anatomy and Appearance
Size and Weight
The walrus is the second largest seal species - right after the elephant seal. A fully grown bull can weigh 1,700-3,700 pounds (800-1.700 kg). A cow weighs 880-2,700 pounds (400-1,250 kg). The body length is 86-140 inches (2.2-3.6 meters). Guess who is bigger and heavier, walrus or polar bear? Well, the polar bear typically weighs around 1,900 pounds (900 kg) and measures about 122 inches (3.1 meters) in length.
Tusks
• Length
Walruses have tusks up to 37.975 inches (96 cm) long. The Guinness Book of Records confirmed this incredible length for a male animal whose tusks were measured in 1997. However, not all of them have such exceptionally long teeth. Typically their teeth are about 20 inches (50 cm) long.
• Age Rings
What does the walrus have in common with a tree? The age of a tree can be easily determined by the number of rings in the trunk. It's similar with the walrus. There are “age rings” in its teeth.
Whiskers
Of all seals, walruses have the highest number of whiskers, boasting between 400 and 700 whiskers around their mouths. The whiskers measure around 3 inches (8 cm) in length and are approximately 0.1 inches (3 mm) thick.
Fat Layer
Walruses have a thick layer of fat known as blubber, which can reach up to 6 inches (15 cm) in thickness. It is crucial for their survival, preventing them from freezing. During the winter month, this layer can make up about one-third of their overall weight.
Skin
The walrus has a skin that measures around 1.5 inches (4 cm) in thickness. When it basks on ice floes, its skin can take on a reddish hue, and it is even susceptible to sunburn.
Hair
Walruses appear to have no hair. However, if you look at them up close, you can see that they have a stubbly hair coat about 0.4 inches (1 cm) in length.
Walrus or Manatee – What’s the Difference?
Walruses and manatees look very similar. Both species have large, heavy bodies that give them a somewhat bulky and clumsy impression. However, they aren't related and there are many differences. Manatees belong to the Afrotheria order and are closely related to elephants. They don't have tusks, live in warm, tropical waters and feed on aquatic plants.
Walrus or Elephant Seal – What’s the Difference?
Walruses and elephant seals both are earless seals. They're similar in size and weight. However, the elephant seal doesn't have tusks but a kind of proboscis. It feeds primarily on fish.
Diet
Walruses are carnivore predators that primarily consume mussels, along with snails, worms, and squid. To satisfy their hunger, they require about 3-6% of their body weight daily. For instance, a hefty male walrus weighing around 3,700 pounds (1,700 kg) needs to eat between 110-220 pounds (50-100 kg) of food each day.
Behavior
Sounds
Walruses have a variety of funny sounds: they whistle, tap, grunt, growl, click, bark and croak.
Hunting Behavior
Walruses were once believed to rely on their tusks for hunting. In fact, it is the whiskers that play a crucial role in finding food. They are very sensitive and help them locate mussels and other prey on the ocean floor. By blowing on the shells, they force their prey to move, which allows them to quickly snap them up. To access the meat inside a mussel, they press their lips against the tough shell and suck out the contents, often consuming between 3,000 and 6,000 clams in one sitting.
Are Walruses Dangerous?
Walruses are predators. However, they don't target humans and very few people live in the icy seas around the Arctic Circle. Nevertheless, they quickly become aggressive if they're harassed. They can attack suddenly and seriously injure people. During the mating season the males are particularly aggressive. By the way, you can't run away from a walrus. It's faster than a human.
Tusks
One of the most striking features of walruses is their tusks. It was once believed that they were primarily for hunting, but their functions are quite different. They're as versatile as a Swiss Army knife and also play a significant role in social interactions.
• Defense
Walruses use their tusks to defend themselves against hungry polar bears. In most cases the polar bear is the loser. It often experiences life-threatening stab wounds.
• Climbing Aid
Walruses primarily use their tusks to pull themselves out of the water onto ice floes or rocks.
• Ice Picks
Walruses don't live on thick pack ice, but on loose ice floes and drift ice. If there's no opening to access the water, they use their tusks as ice picks, chipping away at the ice until it fractures.
• Anchor
When walruses feel tired but prefer to stay in the water, they rest their tusks on an ice floe. This allows their heads to remain above the surface while they enjoy a safe little nap.
• Social Purpose
The male with the longest tusks is usually the leader of the herd.
Senses and Abilities
Diving
Walruses dive down to the ocean floor in search of food. Previously it was thought that they lived at a depth of 80-90 m. It has been known since 2018 that they can dive to depths of up to 1,600-2,000 feet (500-600 meters). They're among the top 10 deepest diving mammals. They can stay under water for up to 30 minutes.
Sleeping
The walrus is the animal that can go the longest without sleep. It can stay awake for 40-84 hours at a time without interruption. But it doesn't lie around lazily, but rather swims and looks for food. In order to recover well, after such a long period of wakefulness, you go on land and sleep for 2-19 hours at a time. In the water it only takes short naps that last 4-5 minutes.
Speed
Walruses can swim up to 35 km/h. They may look clumsy and lumbering, but even on land their speed is surprisingly fast. They can run as fast as a human.
Locomotion
In the water, walruses use their front flippers to determine direction and their rear flippers for propulsion. When moving on land, they turn their rear flippers forward to support themselves.
Life Expectancy
In the wild, walruses can live 20-30 years.
Enemies and Threats
Natural Enemies
Walruses are very large, heavy and very defensive thanks to their long tusks. Their only enemies are orcas and starving polar bears.
Human Impact
The biggest threat to walruses is climate change and ocean pollution. Their habitat is not only polluted by toxic oil from tankers and transport ships. The noise from the ships also causes great stress for them. They are also hunted for their meat and for their skin, fat and tusks.
How Many Walruses Are Left?
Walruses are considered an endangered species. The IUCN estimated in 2016 that there are around 225,000 walruses left, of which 25,000 are Atlantic and 200,000 are Pacific.
Importance for the Ecosystem
Walruses dig through large areas of the ocean floor in search of shells and other animals buried in the sand. This means they add nutrients back into the water. They feed on these small crustaceans and other animals feed on crustaceans. Their influence on the habitat is so great that they are referred to as keystone species.
Reproduction
Walruses mate between January and March. The fertilized egg rests for 4-5 months and only then begins to develop. After a gestation period of 11 months, a calf weighing 45-75 kg is born. It suckles for six months. The male young animals form their own group after 2-3 years. The female offspring stay close to their mother.
Fun Facts
Walrus Antje
Antje was a female walrus that lived in Hamburg's Hagenbeck Zoo (Germany). She was the mascot of the German television station NDR.
Walrus Wally
Wally is male walrus who became famous in March 2021 because he strayed far from his natural habitat, the Arctic waters. Wally swam across Europe and was spotted on the coasts of England, Ireland, France, Spain and Sicily. He enjoyed sleeping on small boats anchored in harbors. In September 2021 he swam north again and was seen in Iceland.
Walrus Freya
Freya was a female walrus who became famous in July 2022 because she enjoyed sunbathing on small boats and (inadvertently) caused them to capsize. She has been spotted in the North Sea on the coasts of Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Scotland and Norway. She was very popular, which is why many people came close to her, wanted to touch her and feed her. She sometimes felt threatened by this and chased people away. Unfortunately, she was killed because people were both angry (because of the broken boats) and afraid of her.
The Walrus Is Related To:
- Elephant Seal
- Fur Seal
- Seal
- Sea Lion
Animals in the Same Biome:
Sources:
- "Diving behavior of the Atlantic walrus in high Arctic Greenland and Canada" (https://www.sciencedirect.com)
- "Behavioral sleep in the walrus" (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- "Once Overlooked, Walruses Turn Out to Be Champion Divers" (https://ww2.aip.org)
- "Longest walrus tusks" (https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com)
- "Most whiskers on a pinniped"" (https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com)
- "Arctic walrus takes a nap on an iceberg, wakes up in Ireland"" (https://www.livescience.com)
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