Scientific classification: The walrus makes up the family Odobenidae of the suborder Pinnipedia of the order Carnivora. It is classified as Odobenus rosmarus. Some scientists recognize two subspecies: the Atlantic walrus, Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus, and the Pacific walrus, Odobenus rosmarus walrus sounds.
Introduction
Walrus are large marine mammals related to seals. Walruses are notable for a pair of long ivory tusks formed by the canine teeth in the upper jaws. The walrus is found only in Arctic regions in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the second largest pinniped (member of the Pinnipedia suborder of carnivores) after the elephant seal. walrus sounds, The name walrus comes from a Dutch word meaning “whale-horse.”
Habitat
Walruses live in the Arctic regions at the edge of the polar ice. There are two main populations, the Atlantic walrus and Pacific walrus. They are often classified as distinct subspecies. The Atlantic walrus is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean along the northeastern coasts of Canada, along coasts of Greenland, around northern Norway, including Svalbard Island, and around the Novaya Zemlya peninsula in northern Russia. The Pacific walrus is found in the North Pacific Ocean around the Bering Sea and in the Arctic Ocean. Most walrus populations migrate southward in the winter and northward in the spring. Walruses commonly use pack ice for resting, molting, and bearing young, walrus sounds but they also come ashore on land.
Description and behavior
Walruses range from 2.7 to 3.56 m (8.9 to 11.7 ft) in length and weigh 800 to 1,700 kg (1,800 to 3,700 lb); males are larger than females. The Pacific walrus is somewhat larger than the Atlantic walrus, and has a wider skull and longer tusks. Walruses have relatively small heads with no external ears; a fold of skin marks the location of the ear. Walruses also have broad muzzles, with large, sensitive whiskers used in finding food. Both the male and female walrus have massive bodies with thick, wrinkled, hairy skin that becomes nearly hairless with age, walrus sounds.
The skin color of the walrus is generally a cinnamon-brown. However, the skin contains tiny blood vessels that can be constricted in cold water to conserve body heat, making the walrus appear almost white. On land or in warm conditions, the blood vessels can be expanded to shed heat, making the walrus’s skin appear pink. A thick layer of blubber lies under the skin, walrus sounds helping insulate the walrus against cold. The walrus can also convert the stored fat in its blubber into an energy source when food is scarce. Walruses molt their coats of hair every year.
Walruses and people
As early as the Middle Ages, Europeans began hunting walruses commercially for their meat, hide, oil, and ivory. They were later joined by Canadians and Americans. By the mid-19th century, populations of Atlantic and of Pacific walruses had been reduced or depleted in many regions. Commercial hunting of the walrus continued into the 20th century, walrus sounds, with Russia and Canada taking the largest numbers. Canada banned commercial hunting of the animals in 1931. An act of Congress banned commercial walrus hunting in the United States in 1941. By the end of the 1950s regulations and international agreements had ended large-scale commercial hunting.