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Walrus

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Mammals

                     iWalrus
   The Pacific Walrus
   The Pacific Walrus

                             Conservation status

   Least concern (LR/lc)
            Scientific classification

   Kingdom:     Animalia
   Phylum:      Chordata
   Class:       Mammalia
   Order:       Carnivora
   Suborder:    Caniformia
   Superfamily: Pinnipedia
   Family:      Odobenidae
                Allen, 1880
   Genus:       Odobenus
                Brisson, 1762
   Species:     O. rosmarus

                                Binomial name

   Odobenus rosmarus
   (Linnaeus, 1758)

                                 Subspecies

   O. rosmarus rosmarus
   O. rosmarus divergens

   Walruses (from Dutch: wal meaning "shore", and r(e)us meaning "giant")
   are large semi-aquatic mammals that live in the cold Arctic seas of the
   Northern Hemisphere. Two subspecies exist: the Atlantic, Odobenus
   rosmarus rosmarus, and the Pacific, Odobenus rosmarus divergens. The
   Pacific walrus is slightly larger, with males weighing up to 1,800 kg
   (4,000 lb), but Atlantic males top out at 1,600 kg (3,500 lb). The
   walrus should not be confused with the elephant seal, another large
   pinniped.

   Walruses are members of the order Carnivora and suborder (or
   alternatively superfamily) Pinnipedia. They are the only members in the
   family Odobenidae. The compound Odobenus comes from odous (Greek for
   "tooth") and baino ( Greek for "walk"), based on observations of
   walruses using their tusks to pull themselves out of the water.
   Divergens in Latin means "turning apart", referring to the tusks.

Life cycle

   Walruses spend about half their time in the water and half their time
   on beaches or ice floes, where they gather in large herds. They may
   spend several days at a time either on land or in the sea. Diving to
   depths of 90 m (300 ft), they sometimes stay under for as long as a
   half hour. In the sea they sometimes catch fish, but generally graze
   along the sea bottom for clams which they suck from the shell. Abrasion
   patterns of the tusks show that the tusks are dragged through the
   sediment but are not used to dig up prey. Walruses can also spit jets
   of water to look for clams. Clams and mollusks form a large part of
   their diet. Large male walruses have been observed to attack seals if
   they cannot find any other food source.

   Walruses mate in the water and give birth on land or ice floes.
   Breeding season is in mid-winter. The males show off in the water for
   the females who view them from pack ice. Males compete with each other
   aggressively for this display-space; the winners in these fights breed
   with large numbers of females. Older male walruses frequently bear
   large scars from these bloody but rarely fatal battles. After
   fertilization the egg remains dormant for several months, then a
   gestation period of 11 months follows. When a calf is born, it is over
   1 m (3 ft) long and able to swim. Birth takes place on the pack ice;
   the calf nurses for about 2 years and spends 3 to 5 years with its
   mother. Females mature at about 6 years, males at 9 or 10. A walrus
   lives about 50 years.

   Walruses have only three natural enemies: humans, orca, and the polar
   bear. Polar bears hunt walruses by rushing at them, trying to get the
   herd to flee, then picking off calves or other stragglers. Walruses
   have been known to kill polar bears. The walruses use their long tusks
   (elongated canines) for fighting and for display.

Population

Pacific

   About 200,000 Pacific walruses exist. Pacific walruses spend the summer
   north of the Bering Strait in the Chukchi Sea along the north shore of
   eastern Siberia, around Wrangel Island, in the Beaufort Sea along the
   north shore of Alaska, and in the waters between those locations.

   Smaller numbers of males summer in the Gulf of Anadyr on the south
   shore of the Chukchi Peninsula of Siberia and in Bristol Bay off the
   south shore of southern Alaska west of the Alaska Peninsula.

   In the spring and fall they congregate in the Bering Strait, adjacent
   to the west shores of Alaska, and in the Gulf of Anadyr. They winter to
   the south in the Bering Sea along the eastern shore of Siberia south to
   the northern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula, and along the southern
   shore of Alaska.

   Alaska Natives slaughter about 3,000 walruses annually. Humans use
   ivory from the tusks for carving. The natives call the penis bone of
   male an oosik and use it in making knives. Federal laws in both the USA
   and in Canada protect walruses and set quotas on the yearly harvest.
   Only under rare circumstances may non-native hunters gain permission to
   kill a walrus legally. The law prohibits the export of raw tusks from
   Alaska, but walrus-ivory products may come on the market if first
   sculpted into scrimshaw by a native craftsman. Commercial auction sites
   such as eBay make a large selection of "pre-ban" walrus ivory
   available.

Atlantic

   About 15,000 Atlantic walruses exist: they live in the Canadian Arctic,
   in the waters of Greenland, of Svalbard and of the western portion of
   the Russian Arctic. The Atlantic walrus once enjoyed a range that
   extended south to Cape Cod and occurred in large numbers in the Gulf of
   St. Lawrence.

The walrus in popular culture

   In Western culture, fiction often depicts the species—with its plump
   body, bushy mustache, and peacefully sleepy expression—as a happy,
   lovable and friendly animal, and its appearance may be interpreted as
   somewhat comical.

In literature and music

     * Farley Mowat's book Sea of Slaughter has a large section dedicated
       to the effects of hunting on eastern Canada's walrus population.
     * Lewis Carroll's famous poem " The Walrus and the Carpenter"
       inspired the 1967 song " I Am the Walrus" by The Beatles. In the
       song John Lennon is "the Walrus". However, in order to deliberately
       confuse his fans, Lennon sings in the later song " Glass Onion"
       that "the Walrus was Paul". In the solo song "God," Lennon sings "I
       was the Walrus, but now, I'm John."
     * The Walrus is a Canadian news magazine.
     * In Salman Rushdie's children's book Haroun and the Sea of Stories,
       The Walrus is the name of the imposing Grand Controller of Gup.
     * Walrus is also the name of Captain Flint's ship in Robert Louis
       Stevenson's Treasure Island.
     * Sam Allardyce, the manager of English football team Bolton
       Wanderers is often nicknamed Walrus, due to his uncanny physical
       resemblance to the creature.

Trivia

     * Savoonga, Alaska calls itself the "Walrus Capital of the World".
     * Walruses are among the only mammals in the world that do not
       process liquid waste via a bladder organ. Once digested, liquid
       waste is absorbed through the lining of the small intestine and
       secreted through the skin.
     * A male walrus's penis is completely internal, however it has one of
       the largest bacula (penis bones) of the animal kingdom.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walrus"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
