A walrus is a very big flippered animal that lives in seas and on ice in the Arctic and sub-Arctic areas of the Northern hemisphere. There are actually three different species of this fabulous looking beast. There is the Atlantic walrus, the Pacific walrus and the rosmarus laptevi which lives in the Russian part of the Arctic Ocean.

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Adult male Pacific walruses can weigh as much as four thousand five hundred pounds which is a very large lump of tusked blubber to carry around.  Females usually weigh about two thirds of that.

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The indigenous Arctic people relied on the walrus for thousands of years as it could provide everything they needed to survive from meat, fat, skin, tusks and bone. However, during the late nineteen hundred and early twentieth century the walrus was hunted almost to extinction. They were valued for their blubber and ivory but since restrictions were enforced their global numbers have started to grow again but the Atlantic and Laptev populations are still low and very scattered. It is unlikely that these will recover their numbers.

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The Atlantic walrus has a flatter snout and shorter tusks than the other species.  The tusks are actually over grown canine teeth and they can grow to a length of three feet and weigh up to twelve pounds in both male and female walrus.

Dominant males have slightly longer and heavier tusks which are used for fighting over females or territory.  Tusks are used to break holes in thick ice and to haul the walrus out of the water onto the ice.

Marine biologists have discovered that these huge strong tusks are not used for digging under the water, but they seem to be used to dredge through the debris at the bottom while digging with the edge of the snout. This was discovered by examining the markings of walrus tusks.  

The walrus has very few teeth but is well know for the huge number of whiskers it has. There can be as many as 700 bristles, set out in 15 rows and reaching up to 12 inches in length.  That is one truly amazing moustache.

These creatures eat pretty much what comes their way, live mostly on sea cucumber, corals, crabs and shrimps and graze at the bottom of the ocean for their favourite food which appears to be clams.  The walrus only has two natural predators, the orca and the polar bear but the one that has done them most damage is, once again, man.