In the waters of the Arctic Ocean lives the largest pinniped mammal - the walrus, which leads a gregarious lifestyle off the coast of Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya, in the Laptev Sea, the Chukchi and Bering Seas. Despite its clumsy appearance, it swims deftly and quickly in coastal waters and moves on land.

The length of the giant’s huge body can reach 5 m, and its weight can reach 2 tons. characteristic feature walrus are long powerful fangs, weighing 2 - 4 kg each, representing formidable weapon in a fight with a polar bear. This five-meter sea animal usually attacks the bear from below, sinking its fangs into it along their entire length.

The walrus is not afraid of icy water and cold arctic climate. His body, which has a thick layer of fat and thick skin (3-5 cm), is well protected from hypothermia, which allows him to sleep not only on the icy shore, but also in the sea. An air-carrying subcutaneous sac connected to the pharynx helps him float on the water during sleep.

The walrus sees poorly, but has a good sense of smell, thanks to which it senses the approach of danger. In case of alarm, the entire herd rises from its place and rushes into the water in panic. In a stampede, several individuals often die, whose carcasses become food for polar bears.

The skin of a walrus is covered with sparse, coarse hair. On the upper lip there are movable thick vibrissae in several rows, equipped with a large number of nerve endings. Vibrissae are organs of touch, with the help of which the walrus probes for food on the bottom of the sea, obtaining various mollusks, crustaceans, worms, and, less often, small fish. The organs of swimming and diving in walruses are flippers, while the rear flippers can be tucked under the body, which allows the animal to push off from the ice surface.

Walruses begin to breed at the age of five and only once every 3-4 years. The female gives birth to one calf and tenderly cares for it for about a year until the walrus grows tusks.

Excessive fishing for these animals has led to a reduction in their numbers, and in some places even to complete extinction. Therefore, walruses are included in the Red Book of Russia as rare, endangered animals.

Video: Walruses are unsurpassed heavyweights / Heavyweights with Unexpected Skills.

Talented Walrus:

A unique Arctic animal, the walrus is a marine mammal, the only modern look the walrus family, and belongs to the group of pinnipeds. An adult walrus is easily identified by its prominent tusks. As the largest representatives of pinnipeds, walruses are second in size only to elephant seals. But since these species live in different habitats, the walrus is the largest in its habitat. There are two known subspecies of walrus: Pacific and Atlantic.

The walrus is a large animal. The maximum body length is 5 m, weight – 1500 kg. Males average 3.5 m in length, weighing up to 1000 kg. Females are slightly smaller. Their body length is up to 3 m, weight from 700 to 800 kg. All adult walruses have tusks that protrude from their mouths. The length of the fangs is 60-80 cm, each weight is about 3 kg.

The walrus is characterized by a wide muzzle. The upper lip is decorated with thick and long whiskers or vibrissae, which look like a brush and are necessary for the animal to detect mollusks under water. The eyes are myopic and small. The walrus's eyesight is very poor, but it is compensated by its developed sense of smell. There are no external ears, and short yellow-brown hairs grow on the skin. As the walrus grows, it loses its hair and becomes completely naked.

Walrus skin is thick and durable, 4 cm thick, and even thicker in the chest area. That is, it is a kind of powerful shell for protection. In males it is covered with tubercles. The front flippers of the walrus are highly flexible, mobile and calloused. The rear flippers bend at the heels. Thanks to this, the animal can lean on them when moving on stones, ground and ice surfaces.

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 typical.

Walruses are distributed over a fairly wide range, in most of the coastal waters of the Arctic Ocean. Rookeries are found in Greenland, Spitsbergen and Iceland, on Novaya Zemlya and in the Kara Sea.

A large population of walruses lives near the Bering Strait and in the Chukchi Sea, on Wrangel Island and along the coast of Eastern Siberia. In the spring-autumn period, animals move to the Gulf of Anadyr and to the western shores of Alaska.

Separately, the Laptev population of walruses is distinguished (about 10,000), which live in the central and western regions of the Laptev Sea, on Kotelny Island, Bolshoi Lyakhovsky Island, and in the Lena River delta.

A sign of sexual dimorphism for walruses is the slightly smaller size of females compared to males. In addition, in males, the skin in the chest area is covered with characteristic bumps, which are absent in females.

Large, clumsy on land, walruses inhabit the Far North, live close to the shores and move very little. As sociable animals, walruses live in herds and tend to protect each other in times of danger. On the rocky shores, walruses set up spectacular rookeries; they lie close to each other. Such a herd always has sentries, who in a dangerous situation begin to roar and push their relatives, after which all the walruses rush into the water together and can stay under its surface for up to 10 minutes. Walruses always help and support each other; they especially touchingly protect babies. If a walrus is tired of swimming, it can easily climb onto the back of any member of the herd.

The purpose of the huge walrus tusks is interesting. Previously it was believed that with their help the animal digs up shellfish at the bottom of the seas. However, scientists now point to social role fangs, which are used in establishing seniority between males, in fights over females and to demonstrate threat. The walrus also uses its powerful tusks like an anchor to hold on to the ice. It was this latter ability that gave the genus its Greek name “odobenus,” which translates as “walking on teeth.”

Reproduction in walruses occurs very slowly. Males and females become sexually mature at the age of 5 years. The mating season begins in the spring, in April-May. Males often fight with each other at this time. The duration of pregnancy is 340-370 days. One baby is born, and occasionally twins. The weight of a newborn is about 30 kg, the body is up to 80 cm long. During the first year of life, the mother feeds the baby with milk. After a year, his tusks become long enough for the young walrus to get its own food. But until he is two years old, he continues to live with his mother. The next birth of a female occurs only after 4 years. And only 5% of all females bear offspring per year. Walrus growth continues up to 20 years. Average life expectancy is 30 years. Maximum – 35 years.

The mighty flipper has only three enemies. Humans take first place, followed by polar bears and killer whales. People killed walruses for their meat, skin, fat and tusks. But today only Chukchi and Eskimos are allowed to hunt walruses. Polar bears usually attack walrus cubs or old and sick individuals, but they rarely do this, since it is still quite difficult for bears to cope with walruses. Killer whales attack walruses in the water; a pod of 15 killer whales can deal with 50 walruses. A walrus can escape from a killer whale only if it manages to get ashore.

• 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.
• During the 18th and 19th centuries, walruses were actively hunted by people, and the Atlantic population was almost exterminated. Walrus fishing is now prohibited by all countries, and an exception is made only for indigenous peoples (Chukchi, Eskimos). We hunted walruses at the end of summer. All parts of the harvested animal were used. Meat was preserved, fins were fermented, fangs and bones were historically used as tools and ornamental material. Lard was melted and used for heating and lighting. The durable skin was used for ropes and used in the construction of housing and boat lining. Waterproof capes were made from the intestines and stomach. Modern technologies made it possible to replace most of these materials, and indigenous peoples traditionally continue to eat only walrus meat, and they continue to make crafts from the tusks. The impact of current production volumes on the state of the population is difficult to assess.
• In addition, the reduction in the extent and thickness of pack ice, on which walruses form rookeries during the mating season, has a negative impact on the number of walruses. The exact state of the walrus population is currently unknown; the species that live in Russia are included in the Red Book of Russia.

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 sentry 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! On an annual basis, walruses are able to migrate with large ice, so they move onto 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 active mating season in such pinnipeds it 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.

A unique animal - the Atlantic walrus - lives in the ecological region Huge mammals drift on giant ice floes along the northern coast of the harsh Atlantic. They bask, lounging imposingly on rocky spits framing the ocean waters.

Atlantic giants in the Red Book

The population of these pinnipeds is rapidly declining. Therefore, the Atlantic walrus is under protection in Russia. The Red Book, which contains these animals, is trying to prevent the extinction of a unique subspecies. Large walrus rookeries have been declared protected areas.

The population includes scattered herds with little contact with each other. Their numbers have declined sharply due to uncontrolled commercial fishing. Of the 25,000 animals, about 4,000 animals remain.

Description of Atlantic walruses

Information about these giants of the Arctic is very scarce. Walruses are large animals with brown-brown skin. The weight of 3-4 meter males is about two tons, and in females, growing up to 2.6 meters in length, it approaches a ton. Huge mammals have a small head with a wide muzzle and tiny eyes.

The upper jaw is decorated with two powerful fangs up to 35-50 centimeters long. The tusks easily pierce ice. They help the clumsy animal climb onto ice floes from sea waters. Tusks are a weapon against rivals and protection from enemies. Walruses often pierce polar bears with their tusks.

The mighty Atlantic walrus, which is difficult to photograph, has another ingenious adaptation - a straw-colored mustache. They form hundreds of stiff hairs. The hairs are thick, like the edges of bird feathers, and sensitive, like fingers. Thanks to them, walruses can distinguish even the smallest objects and easily find mollusks buried in the ocean soil.

Outwardly, the Atlantic walrus looks completely unattractive. Its description is as follows: a fat body lying on a rocky beach, furrowed with fat folds and deep scars, emits a pungent, fetid odor; Tiny eyes, bloodshot, fester. The body of adult walruses is covered with sparse, coarse hair, while young animals are covered with thick hair of a dark brown hue.

On land, the Atlantic walrus is clumsy; it moves with difficulty, using all four flippers. And in the ocean he feels great, easily gliding through the water column. Apparently, it is for this reason that it mostly lies on a rocky beach, but actively moves in sea waters.

Mollusks and crustaceans are the main food of the mighty beast. Although it happens that he attacks the giant animal, it feels full after eating 35-50 kg of food.

Mating season and reproduction

The life expectancy of the Atlantic walrus is 45 years. He is slowly growing up. It reaches sexual maturity at 6-10 years of age. Walruses are capable of not only dozing, burping, snapping, and engaging in fights, but also barking.

Strong animals are very musical. Their musicality is most clearly manifested during the mating season. In January-April, pinnipeds sing expressively. Mating among giants occurs in May-June. The female carries the fetus for 12 months.

She gives birth to cubs every couple of years. After all, the mother has to feed the puppy until it is two years old. And male walruses stay with their mother for up to 5 years. The female never leaves the herd (by and large it is formed by females with cubs).

Habitats

Walruses live in thin ice fields, wormwoods, and in the open ocean. For life, they choose water areas 20-30 meters deep. They prefer to establish rookeries on ice and rocky coasts. Their annual migration is determined by the movement of ice. They, having climbed onto a drifting ice floe, float, as if on a sea vessel, to their usual habitats, where, having climbed onto land, they set up rookeries.

Distribution area

These pinnipeds live along the shores of the Barents and Kara seas. They are fond of bays, lagoons and lips that cut the shores of numerous islands in this region. Ice and coastal rookeries of the subspecies are scattered throughout Franz Josef Land.

The northeastern tip of Novaya Zemlya is a place where the Atlantic walrus has settled and invariably returns there. You don't see it often in the eastern regions of the Kara Sea. He makes his dwellings on the islands of Kolguev and Vaygach.

He also likes the eastern coast of the Canadian Arctic. In this region, his home was the Hudson Bay and Strait, Frobisher and Fox Bay, Baffin Island, and Devon Island. Less commonly, it forms a nest on the Arctic islands to the west of Barrow Strait. They inhabited Greenland from the west coast, the waters of the Davis Strait.

The European Atlantic made available to pinnipeds the drifting ice of Northern Iceland, lips and lagoons extending into Spitsbergen. Norway, on the northern coastline, has sheltered individual individuals.

Limiting reasons

The population of the powerful beast has sharply declined due to increased fishing. The Atlantic walrus, which lives in the Kara Sea, was especially hard hit. Pinnipeds were brutally exterminated in the 19th century. In some regions they were completely destroyed. The population suffered the most severe extermination in the Canadian Arctic, Greenland, and Spitsbergen.

Nowadays, the number of animals is limited by the rapid management of humans. Especially the offensive of oil and gas companies involved in the development of new fields. They catastrophically pollute natural habitats atlantic giants, expelling them from inhabited territories. It is difficult for a subspecies with low potential to withstand inadequate fishing pressure and other anthropogenic aspects.

Walruses are affected by 10 types of helminths. Scientists have not clarified the diseases and causes of death of pinnipeds. The natural enemies of the population are killer whales and polar bears.

The walrus is a pinniped, a mammal found mostly in the far north. Distributed along the coasts of the Bering and Chukchi seas, east to the coasts of Alaska and Canada.

It cannot be confused with other pinnipeds, since the walrus has a distinctive feature - large tusks.

Both females and males have tusks, essentially elongated fangs. They are located on the upper jaw vertically downwards. Their length reaches 1 meter, weight can exceed 5 kg.

Males use tusks as weapons in fights with rivals during the mating period. Walruses also use their tusks as additional strength when trying to climb out of the water onto an ice floe, or climb up a rock.

There are three subspecies: Pacific, Atlantic and Laptev walruses.

These animals have very thick, textured skin due to the formation of fatty folds. The body is not completely covered with fur and hairs, and in older individuals the body is almost smooth.

Skin color ranges from light to dark brown, sometimes with reddish tint. When swimming, the skin of walruses becomes lighter and may even become white, because the water is very cold and the blood vessels constrict.

The walrus's body shape is cone-shaped, with a large massive chest and neck, but at the same time a small and wide head, with a slightly flattened nose and wide-set small eyes. The look of the walrus is sad, but beautiful.

The body tapers towards the caudal part and ends with a small rudimentary tail.

The limbs of the walrus are flippers, which are adapted not only to water, but also to land. Walruses successfully move on land - they walk on flippers, and do not crawl like other pinnipeds.

Walruses are very large animals. The average body weight is about a ton, but this is not the limit. Individuals weighing about 1500 – 1800 kg are often found.

Walruses feed on fish, shellfish and other invertebrates. There are cases when walruses hunt seals or birds sitting on the water.

In search of food, they dive underwater, where they can stay for up to 10 minutes, or try to find food on the surface. The daily requirement for one walrus reaches 100 kg of food.

Walruses are friendly to each other and prefer to stay in groups, but females stay alone. A walrus calf stays with its mother until it is three years old. They feed on mother's milk for up to a year, but already at the age of six months they begin to try other foods.

Upon reaching three years of age, it begins to independently obtain food.

Walrus milk is very nutritious, the fat content is almost 50%, the protein is 10 - 13%, the milk is sweet, since its sugar content is about 0.2%.

Females give birth to offspring approximately once every three to four years, one cub is born.

Walruses like to set up rookeries on ice floes or shores. A funny picture when several dozen huge animals were spread out along the shore. But sometimes, in the event of any danger, walruses fussily begin to dive into the water, not noticing the small cubs underneath them, which often leads to the death of the walruses.