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The walrus is a member of the Pinniped order. There is only one genus and one species in the Odobenidae family- Odobenus rosmarus-the walrus. Within this species, there are two subspecies. The Odobenus rosmarus divergens is known as the Pacific walrus. This subspecies can be distinguished from the second subspecies, Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus by observing their nostrils. The Pacific walrus’s nostrils cannot be viewed from the front while the Odobenus rosmarus has nostrils which are clearly visible from the front. The walrus lives in the open waters of the Arctic Ocean near the edge of the polar ice. Living on the coastal regions of the Arctic allows them to forage the bottoms of the water for food. Most animals migrate with the seasons and the flow of the ice. In the winter, as the weather grows colder, the ice moves south and the walrus move south with it. As the ice recedes in the summer, the walruses move north with it. Sometimes they will ride the ice floes during their migrations, getting off and swimming if it begins to go in the wrong direction.
Walruses have swollen, thick bodies with round heads and muzzles. They have short necks, tough wrinkled skin and large tusks. They have very small eyes and their external ears only consist of small flaps of skin. A bull, or male, walrus can weigh well over a ton, with the female of the species being about one third smaller. Both the male and female have up to 6 inches of fat called blubber, which helps to insulate them against the icy water and weather of the Arctic. Their hide is a yellowish gray and hairless except for a few coarse, bristly hairs and a stiff mustache. The most remarkable feature of the walrus is their tusks. These are actually the long canine teeth of the walrus, which grow throughout the life of the animal. In the male walrus, these tusks could grow to be as long as 40 inches, while the female’s tusks can grow up to 24 inches. These tusks are made of ivory and were highly prized by hunters. The walrus use their tusks for defense and also to help them crawl out of the water. They can also use their tusks and their stiff mustaches to collect mollusks and other marine life from the bottom of the waters. They walrus sucks the mollusk from its shell, as shells are rarely found in their digestive tracts and stomachs.
Between the months of April and June, the female walrus has her calves. She is very protective of her offspring, often allowing it to ride on her neck while she swims and dives. A baby walrus nurses for one and a half to two years, or until its own tusks are developed enough to dig and forage for its own food.
For centuries, the walrus was a staple of the Eskimo culture, who utilized every part of the walrus for food, clothing, and housing material, but after the ivory craze of the early 20th century, the walrus are being protected from extinction.
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