Here are 10 fun facts about walrus: 1. Sexual maturity occurs at six to seven years of age in females, eight to ten years in males.

Rooting along the ocean floor with its snout, it identifies prey with its whiskers.

Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. The weight of a small car! Oceana joined forces with Sailors for the Sea, an ocean conservation organization dedicated to educating and engaging the world’s boating community. Sonalini Khetrapal — National Geographic Your Shot.

There are one species and two subspecies of walrus, all living in cold regions in the Northern Hemisphere. Walruses also have thick skin and lots of blubber (fatty tissue), which protect them from the stabbing tusks of other walruses. Throughout evolutionary history, there have been many similar species, but the walrus is the only survivor in the family.

Its muzzle is short and broad and has a conspicuous moustache of stiff, quill-like whiskers (vibrissae). The Pacific subspecies is somewhat larger than the Atlantic subspecies and also more migratory in nature. Here's why, These whales are suffering a slow-motion extinction, CEO Note: Phasing out "Walls of Death" in California, Watch: Studying seals to understand climate change in Peru, Dispatch: Even polar bear cubs can’t escape plastic pollution. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed the species as “nearly threatened” in 2016, estimating the total number of adult Atlantic walruses in the world at 12,500. Walruses are terrestrial, marine mammals, meaning they can swim in the ocean and walk on land and sea ice.

In the male they can grow to about a metre in length and 5.4 kg (12 pounds) in weight.

They rest between feeding trips on sea ice or land. During the 18th and 19th centuries, commercial hunting resulted in substantial reductions in the overall number of walruses but subsequent protection throughout much of their range likely allowed the species’ numbers to rebound.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Scientists in northern Russia have discovered a huge walrus haulout on the shores of the Kara Sea where their habitat is under threat from shrinking ice and human activity. Today is National Voter Registration Day! Thus they tend to live relatively long life spans of around 30 years. They rest between feeding trips on sea ice or land. What do walruses use their tusks for? While Atlantic walruses utilize ice-free beaches during the summer while they wait for sea ice to return, Pacific walruses follow the ice edge north during the summer and south during the winter. Walruses are easily recognizable marine animals due to their long tusks, obvious whiskers, and wrinkled brown skin. A close up of a female walrus resting after entering the haulout. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). We are restoring the world’s wild fish populations to serve as a sustainable source of protein for people. They may also be used to maintain breathing holes in the ice so this species can feed under the ice during the winter.

A great way to get involved in protecting #oceans: Join Oceana as a Wavemaker & sound off on important issues! Sea ice provides walruses with a resting platform, access to offshore feeding areas, and seclusion from humans and predators. ©2020 Verizon Media. The walrus’s tusks are actually greatly elongated canine teeth. 3. They can be found in the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Arctic Ocean. Now here is the million-dollar question!

Walrus tusks were a big commodity during the period, with Europeans willing to pay big money or trade iron and much-needed timber (trees are scarce in Greenland) for the ivory. Walrus haulouts have traditionally been located on drifting sea ice or on Arctic islands, scientists say. They may also scavenge carcasses of large marine mammals. Andrei Boltunov, from the Marine Mammal Research and Expedition Center, said the Yamal haulout which was first discovered last year but only properly documented last month, showed that the Atlantic walrus population was recovering. 1. Like in many pinnipeds, male walruses are territorial. The harp seal (, sea lions, and the walrus. Where Do Walruses Live? The constant motion of sea ice transports resting walruses over widely dispersed prey patches. Sign our petition to tell GrubHub to take shark fin off the menu now – before the ocean’s most iconic predators disappear. The walrus is valued by both the Inuit and commercial hunters for blubber, hide, and ivory tusks. Scientists have taken DNA samples and fitted several walruses with satellite tags to monitor their movements for up to several months.

Tap here to turn on desktop notifications to get the news sent straight to you. Scientists estimate 200,000 of these giant pinnipeds (the seal family) live in the ocean waters of the Chukchi and Bering Seas of Alaska and Russia. It is the sole living member of the family Odobenidae. The walrus’ tusks grow 3 feet in length and they continue to grow throughout their lives. Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. But their numbers appear to be declining; their winter habitat, pack ice, is threatened by climate change, and in 2011, Pacific walrus were considered a candidate for the Endangered Species Act.

The single walrus pup weighs about 60 kg (130 pounds) at birth and remains with the female for two to three years. However, as their life cycle heavily depends on sea ice, global warming and associated ice loss continues to be a threat for this and other Arctic species. Corrections? Walruses have thick skin and then a layer of blubber. The male, which reaches a maximum length and weight of about 3.7 metres (12 feet) and 1,700 kg (3,700 pounds), is about a third larger than the female. Thousands of walruses gathered to rest on the shore near the Alaskan coastal community of Point Lay during September of 2013 after sea ice disappeared from their offshore foraging grounds in the eastern Chukchi Sea. Sign up today to get weekly updates and action alerts from Oceana. The Pacific Walrus are larger than the Atlantic Walrus. and perhaps some fishes. Russian Scientists Discover Huge Walrus Haulout In Arctic Circle, More than 3,000 walruses have been counted at the remote location on the shores of the Kara Sea, Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost's next chapter. They are used to fight to establish dominance hierarchies, to avoid predation, and to haul out on the ice surface to rest. Announcing our NEW encyclopedia for Kids! Sand from the beach is evident on her tusks. Get all the latest election results from across the country, with up-to-the-minute maps and more. Click here or below to download hands-on marine science activities for kids. Omissions? Walruses are grey or brown but turn a pinkish color as they age. Updates?

Interestingly, mating takes place in the water rather than on beaches or on the ice surface like in other species, so males have aquatic (rather than terrestrial) territories during mating season. The skin is covered with short reddish hair, giving the animals an overall cinnamon colour. There are two subspecies: the Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) and the Pacific walrus (O. rosmarus divergens).

“We want to believe that it’s a positive sign,” said Boltunov, who said there was too little information for now to draw sweeping conclusions however. Walruses are foraging predators that feed on a variety of bottom invertebrates, including shellfish, worms, crabs, etc. These changes have affected the indigenous communities that have traditionally hunted, protected, and lived alongside walruses. Walruses are extremely social animals and tend to gather in small to large groups ranging from just a few to well over a thousand.

Walrus are now protected from sealers but are still subject to subsistence hunting by aboriginals. Adult walrus are typically about 7.25 to 11.5 feet in size and can weigh up to 1.5 tons (3,000 lbs or 1,360 kg). Before commercial hunting of them was banned internationally in the middle of the 20th century, their numbers were threatened by overharvesting for their blubber and ivory. Location: Point Lay, AK, USA But warmer climate cycles mean sea ice is shrinking and habitats are under threat from oil and gas exploration and more Arctic shipping. Polar bears hunting walruses on Wrangel Island, Russia. Male Pacific walrus are slightly larger, with longer tusks.