Everything You Need to Know About the Walrus
The Odobenus rosmarus, also known as the walrus, can be found in various regions depending on which subspecies they belong to. There are Atlantic walruses and Pacific walruses. The Atlantic walruses live anywhere from northeastern Canada to Greenland, their counterparts in the Pacific live in areas from the Bering Sea to the Chukchi Sea during winter and migrate northwards towards the seas off of Alaska and Russia in the spring months.
Walruses are known for their tusks, but they are there for more than show. Their tusks, which are actually canine teeth, are used to poke holes in the ice to hunt for food as well as to help them climb out of the water. The tusks grow throughout the walruses life, and can reach a length of about a meter. Males have larger tusks than females, and the males with the largest tusks tend to lead the herd.
Walruses have a lifespan of about 20 to 30 years in the wild, and their life starts when they are born after a 15 to 16 month gestation period. This gestation period consists of 3 to 4 months at the beginning in which the embryo doesn't implant itself in the uterus, this is known as delayed implantation, and then the rest of the time in which the embryo grows before the baby is born somewhere between April and June during the spring migration. Side Note: Breeding season goes on from January to March. Females only give birth about every two years, giving them the lowest reproduction rate of any pinniped.
After spring migration walruses form huge masses on rocky outcrops and beaches, sometimes these masses can be made up of tens of thousands of walruses. They will stay there for the rest of the year until they make the long journey back to their winter habitat.
Walruses diet is diverse to say the least, in fact they eat more than sixty types of marine organisms. One of their favorite snacks are clams. Walruses have few enemies, the ones they do have include killer whales, polar bears, and humans. The walruses are far from defenseless though, and have been known to injure polar bears in fights especially if they can get them in the water.
Fun Fact: Walruses are the third largest pinniped species, males normally weigh about one ton.
Walruses have a lifespan of about 20 to 30 years in the wild, and their life starts when they are born after a 15 to 16 month gestation period. This gestation period consists of 3 to 4 months at the beginning in which the embryo doesn't implant itself in the uterus, this is known as delayed implantation, and then the rest of the time in which the embryo grows before the baby is born somewhere between April and June during the spring migration. Side Note: Breeding season goes on from January to March. Females only give birth about every two years, giving them the lowest reproduction rate of any pinniped.After spring migration walruses form huge masses on rocky outcrops and beaches, sometimes these masses can be made up of tens of thousands of walruses. They will stay there for the rest of the year until they make the long journey back to their winter habitat.
Walruses diet is diverse to say the least, in fact they eat more than sixty types of marine organisms. One of their favorite snacks are clams. Walruses have few enemies, the ones they do have include killer whales, polar bears, and humans. The walruses are far from defenseless though, and have been known to injure polar bears in fights especially if they can get them in the water.
Fun Fact: Walruses are the third largest pinniped species, males normally weigh about one ton.
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