World Walrus Day

By Sara Thompson

Image credit Joel Garlich-Miller, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Obtained from Wikimedia Commons.

Special to The Enterprise

In 2008, both World Wildlife Foundation and Marine Mammal Council made November 24 Walrus Day. This day is to help raise awareness to these magnificent mammals and their declining numbers.

These massive mammals are the third largest pinniped species, behind only the elephant seal species. There are two walrus subspecies, Pacific and Atlantic, with the Pacific being slightly bigger. Pacific males can range between seven to eleven feet long and weight between 1800-4000 lbs.! Even the babies have some heft to them. Newborn walruses can weigh between 70-185 lbs. and be between three to four feet long. Their body shape is similar to their other pinniped relatives of seals and sealions. They can turn their rear flippers forward and ‘walk’ on all four limbs like sea lions, but swim more like true seals and use full body movements and less flipper flaps.

The most prominent feature of walruses are their tusks. These protrusions can reach over 3 feet in length and weigh around 12 lbs. each. Both males and females have tusks, and they are used in a variety of ways. Males use them for display, fighting, and exerting dominance. Walruses are social animals, and the dominant male is the one with the longest and strongest tusks. Outside of mating rituals, tusks can also help walruses form holes in the ice or to aid in climbing out of the water. Also common is using them as defense against predators such as orca and polar bears, however, due to their size and formidable weaponry, these predators tend to only hunt walrus calves.

Another distinguishing feature of walruses are their bristly whiskers. These are called vibrissae, and a walrus can have between 400-700 of them. They are very sensitive sensory organs that help them find food in the sea floor. While their favorite foods are mollusks and clams, they have also been known to eat shrimp, crabs, marine worms, sea cucumbers, snails, squid, and fish. Other than their tusks, walruses have few teeth and are flat in shape. Walruses use a suction to get mollusks out of their shells and swallow them whole.

Like all animals, walruses have a specific need in their Arctic environment. Climate change is reducing their habitats and as a result, reducing their populations. World Walrus Day has helped bring awareness to conservation efforts for these giants, so their numbers can continue to grow, but more work is always needed.

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