Walruses of the Ocean

    The Basics

   The Walrus is divided into two groups. They are the Atlantic Walrus, and the Pacific Walrus.  The largest Walrus ever caught was 3,432 pounds, but scientists believe that they can be bigger.  The Atlantic Walrus bull (male) is approximately 1,500 pounds.  They are about ten feet long.  Cows, (females) weigh around 1,250 pounds.  Pacific bulls usually weigh around one ton (2,000 pounds), and can be over 11 feet long.  The cows are usually 1,400 pounds and are usually ten feet long.       

   The adult walruses have thick, rough skin so that when they climb over each other,their tusks won't dig into each other's skin.  It is also to protect themselves from the cold.  Walruses may seem slow on land, but they are fast in the water.  Their "tusks" are actually oversized canines.   The scientists used to think that they used their tusks to try to pick clams or other creatures out of their shells.  Now scientists believe that believe that the walruses use their sensitive whiskers to find the clam, and then use their incredible sucking power to suck the clam right out of it's shell.

   Calves, like all other mammals, are born from their mothers.  Their mothers help them rise to the surface for the first breath of it's life. It is small, probaly about the size of an average male human.  They must sleep in a spot away from the entire herd.  This is to avoid the calf being rolled over and crushed.  You may wonder how a mother walrus would be able to find her baby from all the other babies.