What does a walrus look like? Walrus - the amazing world of animals

Walruses (lat. Odobenus rosmarus) are one of the largest animals inhabiting the northern seas. The body length of an adult animal sometimes reaches five meters, and its weight is up to one and a half tons. With its dimensions, the walrus, among the representatives of its detachment, yields primacy only to the walrus, which inhabits the southern hemisphere.

The body of the animal is very massive and large. The head, in comparison with the body, seems like a small growth on a powerful neck. The limbs of the walrus are flippers. Body color is dark brown.

Long, hard whiskers grow on the upper lip, which help the walrus find food. Mustache walrus used for navigation along the seabed, since already at a depth of several tens of meters, due to ice floes on the surface, there is impenetrable darkness.

After carefully observing walruses, you may get the impression that the animal has too much fat. This is true - about 20-25% of the total body weight of a walrus is fat deposits, which act as an energy reserve and protect the animal from the cold.

It is almost impossible to confuse the walrus with any other animal thanks to two massive tusks that protrude down from its mouth. In fact, these are not exactly tusks, but just large upper fangs. They can reach quite impressive sizes. For example, an adult male's tusks can be up to 80 cm long!

Walruses prefer to live in places where the bottom is no more than a hundred meters away. The fact is that most of the walrus’ diet consists of bottom organisms, so the shallower the water column, the less energy spent on diving. However, if life forces it, walruses are capable of diving to 150-200 meters!

After observations carried out by researchers, it turned out that walruses exhale before diving. Having sunk to the bottom, the animal intensively works with its fangs, digging up the soil in search of food. Under water, without air, a walrus can survive for about 10 minutes.

Walruses feed mainly on invertebrate animals: crustaceans, mollusks and worms. An adult animal can eat up to 100 kilograms of food per day!

Among the walruses you can also find real predators. Such individuals are found mainly when there is not enough regular food for everyone, and they attack landing birds. Less common are walruses that hunt constantly, rather than occasionally. Usually these are solitary males, and they even hunt small ones.

In summer, walruses set up real rookeries on shallows or ice floes. Imagine several dozen huge carcasses, each weighing more than a ton, lying close to each other. One walrus leaned its tusks on the back of another, the second threw its fins over its neighbor, and the third decided to take a swim and rushed over the backs of the “vacationers” to the water...

Everything would be fine, but this little heap is deadly for kids. The walrus, of course, is not a fragile creature itself (about a hundredweight), but if an adult weighing more than a ton falls, then expect trouble.

A few walruses who decided to swim do not pose any particular danger, but imagine if there was panic in the herd! Therefore, a ban was adopted on the presence of sea vessels and low-flying aircraft in areas of walrus haulouts. All this was done so as not to disturb the walruses again.

During the breeding season, walruses stay in small family groups - a male, a female and several cubs of different ages. Although males do not form harems around themselves, clashes between them over females occur quite often. Mating takes place from January to February. Pregnancy lasts about 16 months. Most often, one cub is born, less often twins. The newborn weighs just 60 kilograms and reaches a length of 1.3 meters. Babies have no teeth, but they can swim right away!

Cubs stay with their mother until they are 2-3 years old. The female herself becomes very attached to the babies and is ready to protect her child even at the cost of her own life. In case of danger, the female (if the calf is unable to do so) gently pushes the baby walrus to the edge of the ice floe in order to disappear under the water together.

Walruses have few enemies - killer whales, and, of course, people. People have been hunting walruses for several centuries. For example, at the end of the 19th century, about 20,000 heads were destroyed per year. The result of such mass extermination was the complete disappearance of walruses in several parts of the globe. At the moment, a number of conservation measures have been taken, and the walrus population is slowly but surely growing again.

The diversity of animals on planet Earth is truly amazing. The Atlantic walrus is the most recognizable pinniped. It is the largest after the elephant seal. Thanks to the huge fangs on its mouth, the walrus is familiar to every person. In this article we will tell you in detail about the life of these amazing animals.

A little information

The Atlantic walrus is an animal, a mammal. It is a mistake to consider it a fish. Scientists distinguish three subspecies of walruses:

Laptevsky.
Pacific.
Atlantic.

The third and first species are endangered animals and are listed in the Red Book. Fishing is allowed for the second species. It is available only to the indigenous peoples of the North. The exact number of individuals is difficult to calculate. So far, scientists agree on the following indicators:

But these are conditional figures. It is not poachers that pose a serious threat to walrus numbers, but climate change. Melting ice is depriving them of their habitat and mating places.

Where does the walrus live?

In the study of any animal species, determining the habitat plays an important role. Where do walruses live? - in the area of the Arctic seas, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In winter, they live on icebergs that drift through the water. In summer they come out onto land. In the off-season they can be found between Chukotka and Alaska, and in summer in warmer waters. Atlantic walruses can be found in the western Arctic and eastern Canada. Due to poachers, the number of individuals decreases every year.

A little about nutrition

They need to eat almost all day. The basis of their diet is bottom-dwelling mollusks. They are easy to get - the walrus stirs up the muddy bottom with its long tusks, as a result of which the water is filled with hundreds of small shells. Here the walrus grabs them in his flippers and rubs them with powerful movements. After which the fragments of shells fall to the bottom, the mollusks remain on the surface of the water. So the walrus eats them. Worms and crustaceans are also eaten.

But animals do not like fish and rarely eat it, only when there are serious problems with food. Thick-skinned giants do not disdain carrion. Scientists have recorded cases of walrus attacks on narwhals and seals.

Animals need the entire diet not only to maintain the vital functions of the body, but also to build up subcutaneous fat. Its layer reaches 10 cm. It is due to this that the walrus swims and does not suffer from hypothermia.

Features of behavior

Representatives of this species of pinnipeds live in a herd. It is interesting that living collectively, individuals actively help each other and protect weak individuals from attack. When the bulk of the animals are sleeping or resting, sentries monitor the safety of the herd. When danger approaches, they begin to deafen the area with their roar. Despite the apparent slowness and inability to adapt to life, walruses:

Excellent hearing. During observations of pinnipeds, scientists discovered that the female can hear her cub two kilometers away.
They have a wonderful sense of smell, they sense a person well.
Unperturbed, but thanks to their anatomy everyone sees perfectly.
Excellent swimmers.
Rarely attack first, but they can sink the boat.

The main threat comes not only from humans. Pinnipeds are food for killer whales and polar bears.

Reproduction

These pinnipeds reach the age of sexual maturity by five years. The bulk of the mating season occurs in April-May. Males actively fight and identify strong individuals. Females carry their young for a year. A newborn individual reaches a body length of 80 cm and a weight of 30 kg. Since walruses are mammals, they feed their offspring with milk. The cub is born alone, very rarely there are two.

By the second year of life, the cub begins to switch to adult food. His tusks reach the required length and he begins to look for shellfish. From the first day they begin to swim with their mother. The cub lives with its mother for two years. But even after this period, the female does not seek to become pregnant with a new baby. As a rule, they give birth to one walrus every four years. Fun fact - in a herd of animals, only 5% of females become pregnant.

The average lifespan of powerful pinnipeds is 30 years. The animal grows up to 20 years. According to unconfirmed reports, there were individuals who lived for forty and fifty years.

Threat to the species

The main threat to many animals comes from people. For hunters and poachers, the powerful pinnipeds have become a source of tusks (valuable on the black market), meat and lard. Despite restrictions on fishing and territory protection, the number of walruses is declining and they are in danger of extinction. An exception is made only for the indigenous peoples of the North - the Chukchi and Eskimos. For them, this is a natural need and even they can catch a limited number of individuals. The meat of this animal is a necessary part of their diet due to national characteristics.

Polar bears do not attack walruses very often. In the water he is clearly losing, and on land the forces will not be equal. Its prey is mainly young and old animals, as well as sick ones. Orcas present more real threat. In water they are swift and ruthless. They are larger and heavier than pinnipeds. They have only one chance to escape - to crawl onto land. Fun fact: Orcas work as teams. They divide the herd into groups and push them away from the shore and ice floes. A fragmented community becomes easy prey for predators. Other animals do not pose a threat to walruses.

The walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) is a marine mammal, the only living species belonging to the walrus family (Odobenidae) and the group Pinnipedia (Pinnipedia). Adult walruses are easily recognizable by their large and prominent tusks, and in size among pinnipeds such an animal is second only to elephant seals.

Description of the Atlantic walrus

A large sea animal has very thick skin. The upper canines of walruses are extremely developed, elongated and directed downward. The rather wide muzzle is lined with thick and hard, numerous, flattened whisker bristles (vibrissae). The number of such mustaches on the upper lip is often 300-700 pieces. The outer ears are completely absent, and the eyes are small in size.

Appearance

The length of the walrus's tusks sometimes reaches half a meter. Such tusks have a practical purpose, they can easily cut through ice, and allow them to protect the territory and their fellow tribesmen from many enemies. Among other things, with the help of their tusks, walruses can easily pierce the body of even large ones. The skin of an adult walrus is very wrinkled and quite thick, with a characteristic fifteen-centimeter layer of fat. The skin of the Atlantic walrus is covered with short and adjacent brown or yellowish-brown hairs, the number of which noticeably decreases with age.

The oldest representatives of the Atlantic walrus subspecies have almost completely hairless and fairly light skin. The animal's limbs are very well adapted for moving on land and have calloused soles, so walruses are able to walk rather than crawl. The tail part of a pinniped is of the rudimentary type.

Lifestyle, behavior

Representatives of the Atlantic walrus subspecies prefer to unite in herds of different sizes. Pinnipeds living collectively try to actively help each other, and also protect the weakest and youngest of their relatives from attacks by natural enemies. When most of the animals in such a herd are simply resting or sleeping, the safety of everyone is ensured by the so-called sentinel guards. Only if any danger approaches do these watchmen deafen the entire area with a loud roar.

This is interesting! According to scientists, in the course of numerous observations it was possible to prove that, having excellent hearing, the female is able to hear the call of her cub even at a distance of two kilometers.

The apparent inadaptability and slowness of walruses is compensated by excellent hearing, an excellent sense of smell, and well-developed vision. Representatives of pinnipeds can swim remarkably well and are quite friendly, but if necessary, they are quite capable of sinking a fishing boat.

How long do Atlantic walruses live?

On average, representatives of the Atlantic walrus subspecies live no more than 40-45 years, and sometimes even a little longer. Such an animal grows up quite slowly. Walruses can be considered fully grown, sexually mature and ready to reproduce only eight years after birth.

Sexual dimorphism

Males of the Atlantic walrus have a body length of three to four meters with an average weight of two tons. Representatives of the female subspecies grow up to 2.5-2.6 meters in length, and the average body weight of a female does not, as a rule, exceed one ton.

Range, habitats

Currently, it is not easy to estimate the total number of representatives of the Atlantic walrus subspecies as accurately as possible, but most likely it does not currently exceed twenty thousand individuals. This rare population has spread from Arctic Canada, Spitsbergen, Greenland, as well as in the western region of the Russian Arctic.

It is on the basis of the significant geographical distribution and scientific data on all movements that it was possible to assume the presence of only eight subpopulations of the animal, five of which are located in the west and three in the eastern part of the territory of Greenland. Sometimes such a pinniped animal enters the waters of the White Sea.

This is interesting! In the annual regime, walruses are able to migrate along with large ice, so they move to drifting ice floes, swim on them to the desired place, and then get out onto land, where they set up their rookery.

Previously, representatives of the Atlantic walrus subspecies occupied areas that extended south to the territory of Cape Cod. The pinniped animal was found in fairly large numbers in the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In the spring of 2006, the northwestern Atlantic walrus population was listed under Canada's Threatened Species Act.

Atlantic walrus diet

The feeding process for representatives of the Atlantic walrus subspecies is almost constant. The basis of their diet is bottom mollusks, which are very easily caught by pinnipeds. Walruses, with the help of their long and rather powerful tusks, stir up the muddy bottom of the reservoir, resulting in the water being filled with hundreds of small shells.

The collected shells are grabbed by the walrus with its flippers, after which they are rubbed using very powerful movements. The remaining fragments of shells fall to the bottom, and the mollusks themselves remain floating on the water surface. They are the ones that are actively eaten by walruses. Various crustaceans and worms are also used for food purposes.

This is interesting! Walruses need a rich diet to support the vital functions of the body, as well as to build up a sufficient amount of subcutaneous fat, which is important for protection from hypothermia and swimming.

Fish is not valued by pinnipeds, so such food is eaten quite rarely, only during periods of very serious problems associated with food. Atlantic walruses are not at all disdainful of thick-skinned giants and carrion. Scientists have recorded cases of large animals being attacked by pinnipeds and.

Reproduction and offspring

Atlantic walruses reach full sexual maturity only at the age of five to six years, and the active mating season for such pinnipeds occurs in April and May.

It is during this period that males, previously distinguished by a very peaceful disposition, become quite aggressive, so they often fight with each other for females, using large and well-developed fangs-tusks for this purpose. Of course, sexually mature females choose only the strongest and most active males as sexual partners.

The average gestation period of a walrus lasts no more than 340-370 days, after which only one, but rather large, calf is born. In extremely rare cases, twins are born. The body length of a newborn Atlantic walrus is about one meter with an average weight of 28-30 kg. From the very first days of their lives, babies learn to swim. During the first year, walruses feed exclusively on their mother's milk, and only after that do they acquire the ability to eat food typical of adult walruses.

Absolutely all walruses have a very well-developed maternal instinct, so they are able to selflessly protect their cubs in the event of any danger. According to scientific observations, in general, female Atlantic walruses are very gentle and caring mothers. Until about the age of three years, when young walruses develop tusks, the young are almost constantly with their parents. Only at the age of three, with already sufficiently grown tusks, do representatives of the Atlantic walrus subspecies begin adult life.

Domain: Eukaryotes

Kingdom: Animals

Type: Chordata

Class: Mammals

Squad: Predatory

Family: Walrus

Genus: Walruses

View: Walrus

Distribution and migrations

The walrus is an inhabitant of Arctic waters, where it is found almost circumpolarly in coastal shallow waters. Inhabits the Bering, Chukchi, Beaufort, East Siberian, Laptev, Kara Seas and partly the Barents Sea. A permanent inhabitant of the coastal waters of the islands of Franz Josef Land, Spitsbergen, Greenland, as well as the Davis Strait, Labrador and some areas of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The northern border of the range can be considered 72-74°C. sh., but in favorable years walruses can go even beyond 80° N. w.

Walruses make regular seasonal migrations. Animals of the Atlantic subspecies, living in the waters of the Soviet Union, spend the winter months on the ice of the southeastern part of the Barents Sea, and in the summer they go to the Kara Sea through the Kara Gate and around Novaya Zemlya (Cape Zhelaniya), where they stay in the area of drifting ice. Sometimes they also form coastal haulouts. In the fall, walruses return to their wintering grounds along the same routes.

The migrations of walruses living off the coast of Greenland and in the waters of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago have not been studied.

Pacific walruses winter on the ice of the southeastern part of the Bering Sea, from where in the spring they migrate to the Chukchi and Beaufort seas through the Bering Strait. Some males spend the summer in the Gulf of Anadyr and the Bering Strait. In autumn, the entire population again gathers at its wintering grounds in the Bering Sea.

Walruses of the Laptev Sea lead a more sedentary lifestyle. They spend the winter on floating ice in the northern part of the sea near permanent polynyas, and in the summer they move to coastal waters, where they form a large number of coastal rookeries. In the fall, as dense ice cover forms, walruses migrate north again, to areas of permanent polynyas and floodplains.

The timing of migrations is largely determined by the time of movement of drifting ice, on which walruses usually move. Spring migrations occur in May-July, and autumn migrations in September-October. Animals usually move actively to wintering areas, regardless of ice drift.

The number and range of walruses have declined in many places. Thus, in the Pacific Ocean, walruses apparently lived even in the northern part of the Sea of Okhotsk, inhabited the waters of the eastern coast of Kamchatka, and were found in the Gulf of Alaska. In the Atlantic Ocean, they were known in the White Sea, in the Gulf of Maine off the American coast, and in some other places south of the border of their modern range. Individual visits of walruses far to the south of the boundaries of the range are sometimes observed even now.

Description and structure

According to the zoological classification, all walruses belong to the family of walruses, the order of pinnipeds, that is, those with flippers instead of legs. The size of a walrus, if it is a male, is on average 3-4.5 meters in length, female walruses are slightly smaller - they are 2.6-3.6 meters in length. The weight of a male walrus is 1.5-1.8 tons, females are slightly lighter, they weigh “only” 700-800 kg.

Externally, walruses are also somewhat similar to their relatives - eared seals. The body of the walrus, although very massive, is nevertheless distinguished by unexpected plasticity and mobility. The hind legs of a walrus are capable of bending at the heel joint, can bend under the body and take part in the movement of these animals.

But the main difference between walruses, both from other pinnipeds and other animals in general, their “signature calling card” is, of course, a pair of long fangs or tusks protruding from the upper jaw towards the ground.

In females, the length of the fangs-tusks is on average 30-40 cm, while in males they can reach up to 80 cm. Why does a walrus need tusks? In fact, their tusks serve them for various practical purposes, primarily for self-defense from potential predators and to sort things out among themselves - male walruses sometimes quarrel with each other over females, and then their tusks are used. Walruses can also climb onto ice floes with the help of their tusks.

In addition to the fangs-tusks, walruses have sensitive hair on their face - vibrissae; the thickness of the vibrissae of an adult walrus is approximately the same as that of a wire.

The vision of walruses is poorly developed, but this deficiency is more than compensated by an excellent sense of smell, so walruses can easily smell, among other things, the smell of a person, retreating before he approaches.

The skin of the walrus is thick and rough, with insignificant rudiments of fur; in fact, the whiskers are the only hair on the body of walruses. The color of walruses is brown, but in older individuals sometimes pinkish spots on the skin are noticeable - these are traces of numerous scars and scratches acquired during the turbulent life of a walrus.

Subspecies

The range of walruses extends in a ring around the North Pole.

Depending on the habitat, the modern classification distinguishes 3 subspecies of walruses:

Pacific walrus(lat. Odobenus rosmarus divergens) lives in the northern part of the Far Eastern region. Distributed in the waters of the Chukchi and Bering seas and off the islands along the coast of Kamchatka. The largest population lives on Wrangel Island. Representatives of the subspecies are the largest walruses on the planet. The average body length of males reaches 3-4 m with a body weight of 1.7 to 2 tons. The average weight of females can reach up to 900 kg. The tusks of males grow up to 80 cm, females - up to 40-60 cm. The Pacific walrus was nicknamed the eastern walrus of Eurasia, and the walrus received its Latin name divergens thanks to tusks located much wider than those of representatives of the Atlantic subspecies.

Atlantic walrus(lat. Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) is found in the Kara Sea and in the eastern part of the Barents Sea, sometimes entering the White Sea. As a result of uncontrolled extermination, the modern population includes about 20 thousand individuals. The most numerous herds are found in the bays and bays of the Franz Josef Land archipelago. The Atlantic walrus is the smallest subspecies: the average body length of males is 2.5-3 m, females are much smaller. The tusks of males have a length from 34 to 38 cm, in females - from 27 to 33 cm. The subspecies was named the Western walrus of Eurasia and is listed in the Red Book of Russia as rare and subject to decline.

Laptev walrus(lat. Odobenus rosmarus laptevi) is the smallest group, whose independence as a subspecies is still questioned. An isolated population of walruses lives year-round in the central and western parts of the Laptev Sea, in the eastern part of the Kara Sea and in the very west of the East Siberian Sea. Laptev walruses rest on the shores of Eastern Taimyr, in the Lena River delta and on the New Siberian Islands. In terms of body size, the subspecies occupies an intermediate position between the Pacific and Atlantic relatives. The length of the body of males can reach 4.1 m, of females - 3.7 m. The tusks of males can be 65 cm long, in females they grow up to 58 cm. The Laptev walrus is listed in the Red Book of Russia as a rare and vulnerable subspecies.

Behavior and nutrition

The walrus is a herd animal. Its habitat extends to coastal waters, where the depth does not exceed 50 meters. This is the thickness of water that is considered optimal for it. The pinniped finds food on the seabed. Sensitive vibrissae help him in this. The priority is undoubtedly given to shellfish. The animal “plows” the muddy soil with its fangs and many shells rise up. The pinniped giant grinds them with its powerful calloused front flippers and thus cracks the shell. It settles to the bottom, and gelatinous bodies remain floating in the water column. The animal eats them and again sinks its fangs into the sea soil. He needs to eat at least 50 kg of shellfish per day to be satisfied.

Walrus rookeries are spectacular sights. Hundreds of huge bodies lie pressed closely together on the rocky shore. Some crawl into the water, others return to land. In this living mass, isolated skirmishes between males occur, and tender friendships begin. There are also shift guards. They protect the peace of the herd and, in case of danger, raise a loud roar. Massive carcasses immediately quickly crawl into the sea. It happens that young walruses die in stampedes. But more often mothers save them by covering them with their bodies. In addition to land, these pinnipeds also establish rookeries on small ice floes. Pack ice is not used for such purposes. On it, females only give birth to cubs.

Features of walrus nutrition

Walruses live in coastal waters at depths of up to 50 meters and search for their food at the bottom using sensitive vibrissae. The basis of the diet is shellfish. The walrus seems to “plow” the soil with its powerful tusks and the shells rise to the top. The animal rubs them with its front flippers to crack the shell, which then settles to the bottom, and the bodies of the mollusks float in the water and the walrus eats them. An adult walrus needs about 50 kg of shellfish per day.

In addition, the walrus can feed on various worms, crustaceans and carrion. Fish is eaten extremely reluctantly and rarely, only if there is no other food. Large males can attack seals and narwhals. But such cases are rare. Cannibalism is not common.

Reproduction

During the breeding season, walruses gather in rookeries. They do not form harems; they live in family groups of 3-6 animals, consisting of a male, a female and cubs of different ages. Unlike other pinnipeds, walruses in rookeries try to lie as close to each other as possible, and they do this not due to lack of space, but quite consciously. Even if there is free space, a herd of walruses does not disperse along the coastline, but stays crowded together - animals behave in a similar way in zoos.

The reproduction rate of walruses is extremely low. Their pregnancy lasts up to 16 months, and the female gives birth to only one cub, about 1 m long and weighing 60 kg, every 3-4 years. The coloring of the baby walrus is darker than that of adult walruses. The female is very attached to her cub and always actively protects him. From the first days of life, the baby knows how to swim and, in case of danger, leaves the ice floe with his mother. If for some reason the cub cannot do this, the mother remains next to him, even if she is in mortal danger.

If a baby walrus gets tired, the mother often gives him a ride on her back. Even after learning to swim, walrus cubs do not give up such wonderful transport and continue to ride on their mother’s back or neck, holding on to her with flippers. The female feeds the cub with milk for a very long time - up to two years. Only when the walrus has long tusks does it begin to feed on its own, but continues to maintain contact with its mother for about another year.

Enemies of the Walrus

In turn, the walrus itself can become prey for killer whales at sea, polar bears on land, and their third enemy (in any element) is, of course, man. The indigenous peoples of the North: the Chukchi and Eskimos, from ancient times hunted walruses (as well as seals), but they never killed more of them than they needed for food. The white man changed everything - the barbaric extermination of walruses by hunters and poachers in the last and century before last, carried out for the sake of their tusks, led to the fact that in our time the walrus population has greatly decreased and now these giants of the Arctic are listed in the Red Book, as they are brink of extinction.

Human use and current population status

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the walrus was heavily exploited by American and European fishers. This led to a sharp decline in numbers, which, in turn, almost led to the complete destruction of the Atlantic walrus population. Commercial fishing of walruses is currently prohibited by law in all countries where it is common, despite this, to a limited extent, fishing is allowed to indigenous peoples, whose existence is closely connected with the hunting of this species. Among them are the Chukchi and Eskimos.

Walrus hunting takes place towards the end of summer. Traditionally, all parts of the harvested walrus are used. The meat is often canned and is an important source of protein during the long winter. Fins are fermented and stored as a delicacy until spring. Fangs and bones have historically been used as tools, as well as as ornamental materials. Melted lard is used for heating and lighting. The durable hide is used as rope and for building shelters, as well as for covering boats. Waterproof capes are made from the intestines and stomach.

While modern technology has replaced many aspects of walrus use, walrus meat continues to be an essential part of the indigenous diet, just as tusk crafts form an important part of folklore for many communities. Walrus hunting is regulated by environmental and resource organizations in Russia, the United States, Canada and Denmark, as well as representatives of hunting communities.

It is estimated that between four and seven thousand Pacific walruses are hunted in Alaska and Russia, including a significant portion (about 42%) of animals damaged or lost during hunting. Several hundred individuals are seized annually near Greenland. The impact of this level of fishing on the population is difficult to assess because the population size is currently not well established. However, such important parameters as fertility and mortality rates are unknown.

The impact of global climate change on the walrus population is another factor that needs to be considered. In particular, the reduction in the extent and thickness of pack ice has been well documented. It is on this ice that walruses form rookeries during the reproductive period for birth and mating. As a hypothesis, it is hypothesized that decreasing pack ice thickness in the Bering Sea has led to a reduction in suitable resting areas near optimal feeding areas. As a result, the duration of the mother's absence from the nurse increases, which ultimately leads to nutritional stress or a decrease in the reproductive contribution of females. However, scientists still have little data, which makes it difficult to make a reliable conclusion about the impact of climate change on population trends.

During the last ice age, walruses were distributed up to 37 degrees north latitude. This is evidenced by the found remains dating back 28 thousand years. near San Francisco in the USA. At the same latitude is the northern border of the African continent, Greece, Japan, and Turkey.
Despite their large size, walruses are sometimes attacked by killer whales.
In strong currents, walruses cling to the edge of the ice with their tusks, staying under water. They also help animals climb onto high ice. This use of tusks gave walruses their generic name Odobenus rosmarus, which is translated from Greek as “walking on teeth.”
The walrus's stomach is so large that the peoples of the north used it to make waterproof capes for themselves.
In cold water, the animal's blood vessels are greatly reduced, which makes the animal's skin almost white.
Walruses, or rather female walruses, are such caring mothers that, when necessary, they care for not only their own babies, but also those of others.
When the walrus's two throat sacs fill with air, its neck becomes like an inflated ball. The contracted muscles of the esophagus prevent air from escaping, and the walrus becomes a kind of float. Its body is capable of remaining vertically at the surface of the water for quite a long time. In this way, the animal sleeps right in the water, and only its nose and neck are visible above the water.
Surrounded in the water, animals selflessly protect themselves and their relatives until death: they dive under boats and make holes in them, and also overturn boats with their powerful tusks.
In the time of Captain Cook, sailors in thick fog could determine the proximity of the shore by the roar of mating walruses, heard several kilometers away, and thanks to this they often escaped from a collision with an ice floe.

Odobenus rosmarus

Order: Carnivora (Carnivora)

Family: Walrus (Odobenidae)

Genus: Walrus (Odobenus)

Under guard:

Three subspecies of walrus live in Russian waters: Atlantic, Pacific and Laptev. The Laptevsky and Atlantic subspecies are listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation and classified as category 2 (declining in numbers) and category 3 (rare), respectively. Pacific fish is considered a commercial fish and is produced according to a quota by the indigenous inhabitants of Chukotka. The Atlantic walrus lives in areas of the most intense human economic activity in the Arctic - it is this subspecies that is in the most vulnerable position.

Determining the number of walruses, like other marine mammals, is extremely difficult. All assessments existing today are largely of an expert nature. Recently, the population of the Pacific walrus has stabilized at approximately 200 thousand individuals. The number of Laptev walruses is about 3 thousand individuals. In 1998, in the area of Franz Josef Land, the population was estimated at 6-12.5 thousand walruses. A population census carried out in 2006 at the Svalbard rookeries showed that about 2.6 thousand walruses live here.

The main threat to the walrus today is a change in its habitat (disappearance of ice), pollution of habitats as a result of increased industrial activity in the region, increased disturbance, and poaching for tusks.

Where he lives:

Walruses are common in all Arctic seas, but their range is not continuous. The Atlantic walrus in Russian waters inhabits the northern Barents Sea (Spitsbergen, Franz Josef Land), the Novaya Zemlya region, the northern part of the White Sea, the southeastern part of the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea. The population of the Pacific walrus in the summer lives in the Chukchi, Bering and eastern parts of the East Siberian seas. For the winter, walruses migrate to the central and southeastern Bering Sea. Laptev walruses form the smallest and least studied population inhabiting the Laptev Sea.

In summer they usually live in shallow coastal waters, often forming haulouts on the shore; in winter they are usually found on pack ice.

Size:

The length of males reaches 2.7-4.5 m, females - 2.2-3.7 m, weight - up to 2 tons in males and up to 1 tons in females. A newborn cub is 1.2 m in length and about 70 kg in weight. Pacific walruses are larger than Atlantic walruses.

Appearance:

The body is large, massive, the skin is thick, covered with wrinkles and folds. The hair of young walruses is quite thick. Adults are covered with sparse or hairless hair, and males develop skin bumps on the neck and shoulder blades that are absent in adult females. A wide head with a short, blunt muzzle, covered with thick, hard whiskers, and a pair of long tusks. Both males and females have tusks, but in males they are straighter and longer. The front flippers are quite wide, similar to the flippers of eared seals, but shorter, the claws are very small. The back flippers are shaped more like those of real seals, but walruses can tuck them under themselves, like eared seals.

Behavior and lifestyle:

In the sea they are usually found in small groups of 3 to several dozen individuals. In summer they usually stay in shallow coastal waters, forming breeding grounds for resting and molting on sandy or rocky beaches and on floating ice. In winter they stick to pack ice. They often form aggregations of animals of the same sex and age. On solid substrate they move slowly and with difficulty, relying on all four limbs, but in water they are quite fast and mobile. They climb onto the ice with difficulty, using their fangs and front flippers.

Nutrition:

The basis of the walrus' diet is bottom invertebrates: bivalves, some types of shrimp, lobsters, polychaete worms and priapulids, octopuses and sea cucumbers, as well as some types of fish. In addition, walruses sometimes eat other seals: there are known cases of attacks on ringed seals and harp seal pups. The walrus usually feeds at depths not exceeding 80 m, although it can dive to 180 m.

Reproduction:

Female walruses become sexually mature at the age of 5-7 years, males - 7-10 years. The rutting period extends from January to June. Mating occurs in water; one male can mate with several females. Pregnancy is about 15 months. In April-June, the female gives birth to one calf on the ice. The newborn has short soft fur, light gray fins, thick white whiskers, and no teeth. For 6 months, the cub eats only mother's milk, and then gradually begins to eat solid food. By the end of the first year of life, the cub weighs three times more than at birth and has fangs about 2.5 cm long. The next year, the puppy remains with its mother, becoming more independent. At 2-3 years old he leaves his mother. Some females are accompanied by a young yearling and his two-year-old brother. After the cessation of milk feeding, the young animal continues to move with the maternal group. By the age of seven, the mature males leave, forming their own small groups in the winter or joining large aggregations of adult males in the summer, while the females remain in herds consisting of females with cubs. Seasonal segregation of the sexes occurs to some extent in all populations, but it occurs most sharply in the Bering and Chukchi Seas, Spitsbergen and Franz Josef Land. In the first region, in the spring, most males form separate haulouts and feed separately from females in the Bering Sea. At this time, young animals and females migrate north to the Chukchi Sea. In the summer, the isolation of the sexes is maintained, and in the fall the females return to more southern regions and meet with males in the Bering Strait, from where the animals go together to the reproductive haulouts. Immature males spend the winter separately, on pack ice, away from breeding sites.

Lifespan Walruses are about 40 years old.

Threats to the species:

The natural enemies of the walrus are killer whales and polar bears.

The walrus has always been an important marine fish species. The species experienced the greatest impact from commercial fishing in the 18th-19th centuries, when it was virtually destroyed in the northeastern Atlantic. The species is now slowly recovering.

Like other marine mammals, the greatest threat to walruses currently comes from ocean pollution. In addition, walruses are extremely sensitive to disturbance, and therefore any industrial activity in key habitats of the species can cause great harm to populations.

Interesting Facts:

A walrus has recently been observed attacking and killing a swimming reindeer in Svalbard. The described killing of a reindeer by a walrus can be interpreted as an attack on an object that the walrus mistook for a polar bear.