The Walrus Explained

The walrus is a large marine mammal living around the North Pole. It's the only surviving species in its family.

Pacific males typically weigh between 800 and 1,700 kilograms. Walruses maintain this bulk using thick blubber beneath their skin. Thick blubber is just nature's thermal onesie.

The genus name Odobenus combines Greek words for teeth and walking. Walruses use tusks to haul out of water.

Walruses have 400 to 700 stiff bristles surrounding their tusks. These whiskers detect shapes 3 millimeters thick.

Old Norse speakers combined hvalr for whale and hross for horse to name this animal. The result was horse-whale.

Arctic indigenous peoples hunted the walrus for meat, fat, skin, tusks, and bone. It played a prominent cultural role.

Walrus live mostly above continental shelves.

Walruses live 20 to 30 years in the wild. A captive walrus named Slowpoke reached 49 years old.