A huge Arctic pinniped with long ivory tusks, bristly whiskers and a nearly hairless body. It spends much of its life on the sea ice, feeding on clams and other shellfish from the sea floor.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Day & night
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?In places
Indigenous Arctic peoples have long hunted walruses for meat, fat, skin, tusks and bone.
At a glance
Found inArctic
HabitatPolar, Coast, Open ocean
ColoursBrown
SizeHuge
Length2.7–3.2 m
Weight600–1,500 kg; Pacific males can top 2,000 kg
LegsNone
Covered inSkin
Lives inherds
Lives for30–40 years
Can swim
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Shallow Arctic seas over the continental shelves.
- What it eats
- Mainly bivalve molluscs such as clams, found on the sea floor.
Did you know
Uses its tusks like ice picks to haul itself out of the water.
Walruses have fatally injured polar bears with their tusks.
Often confused with
- Seal
A walrus is bigger than any seal except the elephant seals, and has long tusks and almost hairless skin.
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