This strategy of delayed implantation, common among pinnipeds, presumably evolved to optimize both the mating season and the birthing season, determined by ecological conditions that promote newborn survival. The walrus is the only living species in the family Odobenidae and genus Odobenus. [24], The walrus has an air sac under its throat which acts like a flotation bubble and allows it to bob vertically in the water and sleep. [85], Currently, two of the three walrus subspecies are listed as "least-concern" by the IUCN, while the third is "data deficient". [63][64] Rarely, incidents of walruses preying on seabirds, particularly the Brünnich's guillemot (Uria lomvia), have been documented. The greatest number of these animals lives on the Chukchi Peninsula, the banks of the Bering Strait and the Labrador Peninsula, and few walruses in the western and central parts of the Eurasian coast. Several place names in Iceland, Greenland and Norway may originate from walrus sites: Hvalfjord, Hvallatrar and Hvalsnes to name some, all being typical walrus breeding grounds. Seals are classified with the pinniped group (seals, sea lions, walrus). Walruses Are Related to Seals and Sea Lions. They can remain submerged for as long as half an hour. [35], Commercial harvesting reduced the population of the Pacific walrus to between 50,000 and 100,000 in the 1950s-1960s. Breeding occurs from January to March, peaking in February. There are three subspecies of walrus. [50] This population was nearly eradicated by commercial harvest; their current numbers, though difficult to estimate, probably remain below 20,000. Traditional hunters used all parts of the walrus. [10], The coincidental similarity between morse and the Latin word morsus ("a bite") supposedly contributed to the walrus's reputation as a "terrible monster". The range of walruses is circumpolar, that is, it encloses the North Pole. An estimated four to seven thousand Pacific walruses are harvested in Alaska and in Russia, including a significant portion (about 42%) of struck and lost animals. They live in groups of 10-20 individuals, but can form rookeries up to 100-3000 individuals (more often such large groups are created by females). [24] Walrus milk contains higher amounts of fats and protein compared to land animals but lower compared to phocid seals. In late spring and summer, for example, several hundred thousand Pacific walruses migrate from the Bering Sea into the Chukchi Sea through the relatively narrow Bering Strait. The term divergens in Latin means "turning apart", referring to their tusks. [19][20] Newborn walruses are already quite large, averaging 33 to 85 kg (73 to 187 lb) in weight and 1 to 1.4 m (3 ft 3 in to 4 ft 7 in) in length across both sexes and subspecies. The extent and thickness of the pack ice has reached unusually low levels in several recent years. Due to the reduction in abundance, the walrus area now exploded into several unconnected sites. [4] They rut from January through April, decreasing their food intake dramatically. [18] Length typically ranges from 2.2 to 3.6 m (7 ft 3 in to 11 ft 10 in). [23] Tusks are slightly longer and thicker among males, which use them for fighting, dominance and display; the strongest males with the largest tusks typically dominate social groups. [citation needed][56][57], Walruses prefer shallow shelf regions and forage primarily on the sea floor, often from sea ice platforms. The origin of the word walrus is thought by J.R.R. Every year, they cover 1,863 miles in migration. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the walrus was heavily exploited by American and European sealers and whalers, leading to the near-extirpation of the Atlantic subspecies. The walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. There are eight hypothetical subpopulations of Atlantic walruses, based largely on their geographical distribution and movements: five west of Greenland and three east of Greenland. As a result of less sea ice, walrus are changing their behavior. As with otariids, it can turn its rear flippers forward and move on all fours; however, its swimming technique is more like that of true seals, relying less on flippers and more on sinuous whole body movements. They winter over in the Bering Sea along the eastern coast of Siberia south to the northern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula, and along the southern coast of Alaska. With sea ice receding year after year, he says, the walruses … [65] Walruses may occasionally prey on ice-entrapped narwhals and scavenge on whale carcasses but there is little evidence to prove this. Females weigh about two-thirds as much as males, with the Atlantic females averaging 560 kg (1,230 lb), sometimes weighing as little as 400 kg (880 lb), and the Pacific female averaging 800 kg (1,800 lb). [58], The walrus has a diverse and opportunistic diet, feeding on more than 60 genera of marine organisms, including shrimp, crabs, tube worms, soft corals, tunicates, sea cucumbers, various mollusks, and even parts of other pinnipeds. [21], While this was not true of all extinct walruses,[22] the most prominent feature of the living species is its long tusks. [14] The key distinguishing feature was the development of a squirt/suction feeding mechanism; tusks are a later feature specific to Odobeninae, of which the modern walrus is the last remaining (relict) species. [54], The isolated population of Laptev Sea walruses is confined year-round to the central and western regions of the Laptev Sea, the eastmost regions of the Kara Sea, and the westmost regions of the East Siberian Sea. Whales are classified with the cetacean group (dolphins, porpoises, toothed whales and baleen whales). Smaller numbers of males summer in the Gulf of Anadyr on the southern coast of the Siberian Chukchi Peninsula, and in Bristol Bay off the southern coast of Alaska, west of the Alaska Peninsula. … It is represented by two subspecies, the Atlantic and the Pacific walrus. 3. Both the killer whale and the polar bear are also most likely to prey on walrus calves. From adistance the walrus appears to be without fur. This species is subdivided into two subspecies: the Atlantic walrus (O. r. rosmarus), which lives in the Atlantic Ocean, and the Pacific walrus (O. r. divergens), which lives in the Pacific Ocean. 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