The Walrus

THE WALRUSRESEARCH QUESTION
How do animals survive in different conditions, how are they adapted to their habitat?

Photo Credit: Orlando SeaWorld https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/seaworld-orlando-proudly-welcomes-whiskered-baby-walrus-300884199.html

General Information:

SCIENTIFIC NAME: TYPE:DIET:GROUPLIFESPANSIZE(metric)
Odobenus RosmarusMammaliaClamsHerdlives up to 40 years
mates at 5 years
1,000 kg   
3.2 meters

Where do they live

  • Bering sea
  • Arctic ocean
  • Norwegian sea
  • Atlantic ocean

Environment

  • inhabit waters no more than about 80 m
  • most walruses live where the air temperature is about -15° to +5°C
  • prefer a habitat with a gravelly bottom
  • spend about two-thirds of their lives in the water
  • Atlantic Walrus inhabit coastal areas of Canada and Greenland
  • Pacific Walrus are found in the northern seas off Alaska and Russia.
  • are adapted to a habitat of sea ice 
  • prefer snow-covered moving pack ice
  • haul out on small rocky islands when ice is not present.

How are they affected by climate change?

  • the summer sea ice is melting because of climate change.

Diet

  • clams
  • mollusks
  • sea cucumbers and more

Where they are in the food chain – Predators

  • predators are polar bears
  • can easily be an Orca’s snack.

How many are their? Are they endangered?

Life Span / Life cycle 

  • lives up to 40 years in the wild
  • mates at 5 years 

 

Adaptation

The site below describes the many adaptations of the Walrus.  I will choose a few of the adaptations that I find most interesting.

  • the walrus uses it’s tusks to battle it’s predators, to protect their babies and use them to glide across the bottom to find food
    • it plows through the sediment on the ocean floor with their noses.
    • object is identified with the whiskers.
    • if clam, the foot of the clam is taken between the lips, and the soft parts are sucked from the shell and swallowed
  • the walrus uses it’s tusks to lift itself up out of the water and onto the ice
Walrus FeedingWalrus Blubber

All About the Walrus, Adaptions by Seaworld Parks <https://seaworld.org/animals/all-about/walrus/adaptation>

In Depth tutorials and Information
<https://what-when-how.com/marine-mammals/walrus-marine-mammals/>

Other Sources: 

Walrus Mom and Baby Cuddle | National Geographic  VIDEO

Tracking

Pacific Walrus: Expedition to the Shrinking Chukchi Sea Ice VIDEO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF-aNYhCr8k
 
Top 10 fun facts about the Walrus https://arctickingdom.com/10-fun-facts-about-walrus/