Walrus
Walruses are large animals with a rounded head, short muzzle, short neck and small eyes. They are able to turn their hind flippers forward to aid in movement on land. Their front flippers are large and each has five digits. Males have special air sacs that are used to make a bell-like sound. Both males and females have large tusks that are used for defense, cutting through ice and to aid in getting out of the water. The tusks can be more than three feet long in males and about two and a half feet long in females. Walruses are cinnamon brown in color.
Size
Females are smaller than male walruses. Male walruses stand up to five feet tall, are nine to 11 feet long and weigh 1,700 to 3,700 pounds. Females weigh 880 - 2,700 lbs. and are seven to ten feet long.
Population 250,000
Lifespan 
Walruses can live for 40 years.
Range
Coastal regions of the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas.
Habitat
Moving pack ice in the shallow waters found near land, coastal beaches. They spend the majority of their time in the water.
Food
Clams, mussels and other bottom dwelling organisms that are located by their sensitive whiskers.
Behavior
Most groups of walruses migrate north in the summer and south in the winter. During the nonbreeding season, males and females tend to stay in groups segregated from one another. Many interactions between walruses are agonistic and may end in fighting.
Offspring
Walruses breed in January or February. Following a 15 to 16 month gestation, a single calf is born. Females are very protective of their young. Female walruses help one another in raising calves. Babies are weaned from their mother at about two years of age. |
