Walrus - Overview

Two walrus cows. Photo by Alaska Region U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Order: Carnivora

Family: Odobenidae

Species: Odobenus rosmarus

IUCN Status: Vulnerable

Distribution: Arctic seas from Alaska, Canada and Greenland to Russia.

Habitat: open water, near to shore or on ice floes.

Size: Height: up to 150cm. Length: bulls, 300-370cm. Weight: 900-1600kg.

Life-span: up to 50 years

Sexual Maturity: females: 6-7 years, males: 15 years

Food: mainly molluscs and other invertebrate marine animals. Sometimes fish and seals.

Description: long tusks, bristly moustache and deeply wrinkled brown skin.

Gestation: 18-24 months

Number of young: 1

Walruses have very thick skin and underneath this, a layer of blubber which can be up to 15cm thick. They need this kind of protection from the sub-zero temperatures of the Arctic seas in which they live.

Table of Contents

Food and Hunting

Walruses and Humans

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