Animal · Norway, Russia, United States
Walrus
Odobenus rosmarus — the name this animal has in the language scientists everywhere share.
The walrus is a huge Arctic seal relative known for its long ivory tusks and bristly whiskers. It hauls out in noisy herds on sea ice and beaches around the North Pole.
Picture credit: Godot13 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · AWeith (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Dolovis (Public domain) · Wikimedia Commons
Where does the walrus live?
Home: Arctic coasts and sea ice around the North Pole.
In the wild you find it in: Norway, Russia, United States, Canada, Greenland.
Conservation status from the IUCN: vulnerable.
The short profile
Fully grown it measures 2.2–3.6 m long. It weighs about 1 200 kilograms. On the menu: meat.
The story behind it
A walrus's tusks are actually enormous canine teeth that can grow over a metre long and are used for fighting other walruses, defending territory, and hauling their heavy bodies out of the water onto ice. Rather than eating seals or fish, walruses mostly dive to the seafloor to feed on clams and other shellfish, using their sensitive whiskers to feel for prey in the dark, muddy bottom and sucking the soft flesh out of shells with powerful lips. A walrus can eat thousands of clams in a single feeding session. They rely heavily on sea ice as a resting platform between dives and for raising calves, so as Arctic ice shrinks, walruses are increasingly forced to crowd onto beaches, sometimes in dangerously large numbers, which has contributed to their vulnerable status.
Find it on the globe
Walrus is there as a tiny animated figure that breathes and looks around. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.
Questions children ask
What are walrus tusks used for?
Walrus tusks are used to fight rivals, defend territory and help haul their heavy body out of the water onto ice, which is actually where the word 'walrus' likely comes from. They are not typically used for hunting food.
What do walruses eat?
Walruses mainly eat clams and other shellfish, which they find on the seafloor using their sensitive whiskers. They can suck the soft body out of a shell without even breaking it, and eat thousands of clams a day.
Why are walruses vulnerable?
Walruses are listed as vulnerable because shrinking Arctic sea ice, which they rely on for resting and raising calves, is forcing them onto crowded beaches instead. This can lead to dangerous stampedes and makes finding food harder.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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