WALRUS

Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) also called Morse (species Odobenus rosmarus), large, seallike mammal, the sole living member of the family Odobenidae, found in Arctic seas of Eurasia and North America. There are two subspecies: the Atlantic walrus (O.r. rosmarus; see photograph) and the Pacific walrus (O.r. divergens); males of the latter are slightly larger and have longer tusks than those of the former. The walrus is a heavy-bodied animal with a rounded head, small eyes, and no external ears. Its muzzle is short, broad, and covered with stiff, quill-like whiskers. Its grayish skin, which is thrown into deep folds over the shoulders, is covered with short, reddish hair, very scanty on old animals. The male walrus is about one-third larger than the female, reaching a maximum length and weight of about 3.7 m (12 feet) and 1,260 kg (2,770 pounds). Members of both sexes possess long tusks (the upper canine teeth) that project downward from the mouth and may, in the male, attain a length and weight per tusk of about 1 m (3 feet) and 5.4 kg (12 pounds). The walrus, like the sea lion and fur seal (family Otariidae), can turn its hind flippers forward under the body when on land and can thus move about on all four limbs. A sociable animal, it lives in groups sometimes including more than 100 walruses. It is polygynous. Unlike the young of most other pinnipeds (aquatic mammals), the single walrus pup remains with the female for about two years. The walrus usually frequents comparatively shallow water and hauls out on beaches and ice floes. It feeds largely on clams, which it digs out with its tusks and shovels into its mouth with its stiff whiskers; an occasional "rogue" walrus feeds on seals and other marine animals. The walrus is valued, both by Eskimos and commercial hunters, for its blubber, hide, and ivory tusks. As with many other pinnipeds, its numbers have been reduced by sealers.