The walrus is listed in red. Walrus

In the waters of the Arctic Ocean lives the largest pinniped mammal - the walrus, which leads a gregarious lifestyle off the coast of Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya, in the Laptev Sea, the Chukchi and Bering Seas. Despite its clumsy appearance, it swims deftly and quickly in coastal waters and moves on land.

The length of the giant’s huge body can reach 5 m, and its weight can reach 2 tons. The most characteristic feature of the walrus is its long, powerful fangs, weighing 2–4 kg each, which are a formidable weapon in a fight with a polar bear. This five-meter sea animal usually attacks the bear from below, sinking its fangs into it along their entire length.

The walrus is not afraid of icy water and cold arctic climate. His body, which has a thick layer of fat and thick skin (3-5 cm), is well protected from hypothermia, which allows him to sleep not only on the icy shore, but also in the sea. An air-carrying subcutaneous sac connected to the pharynx helps him float on the water during sleep.

The walrus sees poorly, but has a good sense of smell, thanks to which it senses the approach of danger. In case of alarm, the entire herd rises from its place and rushes into the water in panic. In a stampede, several individuals often die, whose carcasses become food for polar bears.

The skin of a walrus is covered with sparse, coarse hair. On the upper lip there are movable thick vibrissae in several rows, equipped with a large number of nerve endings. Vibrissae are organs of touch, with the help of which the walrus probes for food on the bottom of the sea, obtaining various mollusks, crustaceans, worms, and, less often, small fish. The organs of swimming and diving in walruses are flippers, while the rear flippers can be tucked under the body, which allows the animal to push off from the ice surface.

Walruses begin to breed at the age of five and only once every 3-4 years. The female gives birth to one calf and tenderly cares for it for about a year until the walrus grows tusks.

Excessive fishing for these animals has led to a reduction in their numbers, and in some places even to complete extinction. Therefore, walruses are included in the Red Book of Russia as rare, endangered animals.

Video: Walruses are unsurpassed heavyweights / Heavyweights with Unexpected Skills.

Talented Walrus:

One of the unique Arctic animals is walrus. This is the largest representative of the pinniped family. A rare species with declining numbers.

Appearance of walruses

Representatives of this species are difficult to confuse with any other animal. This is far from a small animal. The body length can be from 3 to 5 meters. Weight is 800-900 kg, and in some cases more than a ton. Adult walruses have long fangs protruding from their mouths, each weighing 3 kg.

The muzzle of this animal is wide. There is a thick and long mustache above the upper lip. Walruses They see poorly because their eyes are too small and myopic. But this deficiency is compensated by a well-developed sense of smell. The skin is covered with brown hair, but over the years it falls out. Adult walruses are hairless.
Walruses They are distinguished by thick and durable leather. She protects animals well. Males have bumps on their skin. They can move on ice thanks to flexible and mobile fins.

The throat pouches are located on the neck. They fill with air, and the neck becomes like a ball. Thus, the animal does not drown, but floats calmly on the surface of the water. Thanks to this feature, they can sleep in ice-cold water.

Walrus habitat

Walruses can be found on the northern coasts of Eurasia, North America and the Arctic islands. They avoid open water spaces. Most of the animals are concentrated on the Chukchi Peninsula, the shores of the Bering Strait and the Labrador Peninsula.

Walruses migrate over very short distances. With the onset of winter, they can move south only a few kilometers.
Animals prefer to live in herds. They form large groups of several dozen individuals. They stay very friendly. Even if there is a lot of space, walruses They prefer to lie next to each other and all dive into the water together. They are very peaceful, equality reigns in the herd, and adults do not threaten the children in any way, as is the case with other species.

What do walruses eat?

The diet of walruses includes mollusks, crustaceans, and fish. In times of famine they may feed on dead birds or seals. To get food for themselves, animals can dive under water for a long time.

The walrus digs the bottom with its tusks in search of shellfish and other living creatures. In captivity, leaf-shaped animals remain without fangs, breaking them on the bottom of pools.

Walrus breeding

The mating season begins in the spring. Males engage in fights to win the favor of the female. They inflict wounds on each other, but not fatal ones. Walruses never kill each other. Pregnancy lasts about 350 days. The female gives birth to one child; twins are very rare. The baby is about a meter long and weighs 60 kg. From the first days of life, little walruses know how to swim, so in case of danger they can hide under water with their mother.

For two years the child feeds on mother's milk. Only when it grows fangs can it feed on its own. These animals reproduce very slowly. They reach sexual maturity only at the age of 5 years. Most females produce offspring only once every 4 years.
Lifespan, both in freedom and in captivity for about 40 years.

Among the animal world, only the polar bear and killer whale threaten walruses. But even a bear has a hard time dealing with them. An adult walrus can cause serious injury to a predator. Only the cubs are defenseless against him.

Local residents have long hunted walruses for lard and meat. This had no effect on the population. But soon the animals began to be hunted on a particularly large scale, which negatively affected their numbers. In the 19th century, almost the entire species in the northeastern Atlantic was destroyed. Now only indigenous people of the North can hunt them, and only with a special license.

Animals are listed in the Red Book. Experts are concerned about the little information available about walrus habitats and species numbers. Scientists have only a small amount of information obtained from expeditions and from the stories of the aborigines.

Walruses is becoming smaller due to dramatic climate change. Global warming has led to the melting of Arctic ice. Because of this, more and more oil and gas companies are coming to develop the shelf, which greatly harms animals.

Special measures for the protection of walruses have not yet been developed. It is necessary to create nature reserves and sanctuaries in the areas where walruses live.

The walrus is a pinniped, a mammal found mostly in the far north. Distributed along the coasts of the Bering and Chukchi seas, east to the coasts of Alaska and Canada.

It cannot be confused with other pinnipeds, since the walrus has a distinctive feature - large tusks.

Both females and males have tusks, essentially elongated fangs. They are located on the upper jaw vertically downwards. Their length reaches 1 meter, weight can exceed 5 kg.

Males use tusks as weapons in fights with rivals during the mating period. Walruses also use their tusks as additional strength when trying to climb out of the water onto an ice floe, or climb up a rock.

There are three subspecies: Pacific, Atlantic and Laptev walruses.

These animals have very thick, textured skin due to the formation of fatty folds. The body is not completely covered with fur and hairs, and in older individuals the body is almost smooth.

Skin color ranges from light to dark brown, sometimes with reddish tint. When swimming, the skin of walruses lightens and may even turn white because the water is very cold and the blood vessels constrict.

The walrus's body shape is cone-shaped, with a large massive chest and neck, but at the same time a small and wide head, with a slightly flattened nose and wide-set small eyes. The look of the walrus is sad, but beautiful.

The body tapers towards the caudal part and ends with a small rudimentary tail.

The limbs of the walrus are flippers, which are adapted not only to water, but also to land. Walruses successfully move on land - they walk on flippers, and do not crawl like other pinnipeds.

Walruses are very large animals. The average body weight is about a ton, but this is not the limit. Individuals weighing about 1500 – 1800 kg are often found.

Walruses feed on fish, shellfish and other invertebrates. There are cases when walruses hunt seals or birds sitting on the water.

In search of food, they dive underwater, where they can stay for up to 10 minutes, or try to find food on the surface. The daily requirement for one walrus reaches 100 kg of food.

Walruses are friendly to each other and prefer to stay in groups, but females stay apart. A walrus calf stays with its mother until it is three years old. They feed on mother's milk for up to a year, but already at the age of six months they begin to try other foods.

Upon reaching three years of age, it begins to independently obtain food.

Walrus milk is very nutritious, the fat content is almost 50%, the protein is 10 - 13%, the milk is sweet, since its sugar content is about 0.2%.

Females give birth to offspring approximately once every three to four years, one cub is born.

Walruses like to set up rookeries on ice floes or shores. A funny picture when several dozen huge animals were spread out along the shore. But sometimes, in the event of any danger, walruses fussily begin to dive into the water, not noticing the small cubs underneath them, which often leads to the death of the walruses.

The walrus is a large pinniped marine mammal, second in size only to the elephant seal. Reaches a weight of 2,000 kg. Listed in the Red Book of Russia.

Appearance

Walrus- a very large animal with thick wrinkled skin. Males have large skin growths on the neck and shoulders. The larger these growths, the more attractive they appear to females. The thickness of the skin reaches 10 cm, and the subcutaneous fat - 15 cm. Males are much larger than females - the weight of some individuals reaches 2 tons, but usually does not exceed 800 - 1500 kg. Females weigh on average 500 - 800 kg. The length of adult walruses is 2 - 3.5 m.

Young walruses have dark brown skin with yellowish hairs. Adult animals go bald over time, and their skin becomes lighter in color. Old individuals become almost pink towards the end of their lives.

A distinctive feature of these pinnipeds is their huge tusks. Their length can reach 1 m. They help the animal when moving on slippery surfaces and for breaking through ice. The tusks are elongated upper fangs that point downwards. In males they are larger and are used for battles with other males during the mating period. Males with the largest tusks occupy a dominant position in the herd.

The muzzle is wide, with hard, thick antennae-bristles on the upper lip. The eyes are small. The ear openings are hidden under the skin and have no outlet to the outside. The tail is small. The front flippers are well developed, allowing walruses to move more or less normally on land, unlike many other pinnipeds, which can only crawl on the ground.

There are three populations of walruses with slight external differences - the Pacific, Atlantic and Laptev Sea populations.

Pacific walrus population the largest in both number and size of animals. It lives on the northern coast of Eastern Siberia, on Wrangel Island, in northern Alaska. In winter, herds of walruses move south - to the Berengov Sea, to Kamchatka and to the southern coast of Alaska. According to modern estimates, the population size is 200 thousand animals.

Atlantic walrus smaller by about a third of their Pacific relatives. It lives in northern Canada, Greenland and the western region of the Russian Arctic. It was almost completely exterminated by humans as a result of uncontrolled fishing. The estimated population size is 15 - 20 thousand individuals.

Laptev walrus population the smallest - about 5 thousand individuals. It is isolated from other populations in the Laptev Sea and Kara Sea.

Behavior and reproduction

Walruses are very sociable animals, constantly helping and supporting each other. Together they guard the cubs, signal about approaching danger, and generally treat all members of their herd very warmly. The only time walruses turn into bullies is during mating season. At this time, adult sexually mature males fight with each other for the right to mate with a female and occupy a dominant position in the herd. The rest of the time the animals are not aggressive. They do not show aggression towards their natural enemies, including humans, although there are documented cases of walruses attacking boats - their huge tusks can easily split small vessels.

Walrus herds always post sentries along the entire perimeter of the rookery. The sentries, relying on their sense of smell, hearing and vision, monitor polar bears and humans, who are their main enemies in nature. In case of danger, the sentry raises a loud roar and wakes up his sleeping comrades. The herd rushes into the water and can hide under water for up to 30 minutes until the danger disappears. In general, despite their impressive size, walruses try not to get into fights with anyone, preferring to retreat to a safe distance. A person, knowing the caution of walruses, sneaks up from the leeward side during a hunt, trying not to reveal his presence until the last moment.

The main diet of walruses consists of various invertebrates, shrimp, sea worms, sea cucumbers, and less often fish. Sometimes seals are attacked, but such cases are very rare. Hungry walruses do not disdain carrion.

They feed in shallow water areas. They are not the best divers compared to other pinnipeds and do not dive deeper than 80 m. On a dirty bottom they navigate with the help of vibrissae(antennae-bristles on the upper lip). When feeding, the walrus does not use its tusks, but digs out the bottom with the help of flippers and the upper part of its snout. Despite its omnivorous and gluttonous nature, the animal does not have a strong detrimental effect on the ecosystem in its “pastures.” By loosening the soil, the walrus releases nutrients located deep in the silt, thereby creating favorable conditions for the further development of bottom animals.

Walruses live up to 30 years in the wild. Males reach sexual maturity by age 7, but usually do not mate until age 15. Females are ready for pregnancy at 4-6 years of age. Ovulation (the period of possibility of conception) in females occurs at the end of summer and in February, but males are ready to mate only in the February cycle. Scientists do not understand the reason why females ovulate in summer.

At the beginning of winter, males suddenly stop feeding in preparation for mating. Gathering around the females, they express themselves in vocal art, competition in which often leads to a battle on the tusks. Females choose the male they like and mate with him in the water. Pregnancy lasts up to 16 months. Cubs appear once every 3-4 years. Young calves are born between April and June and are able to swim from birth. The child remains with the mother until he is 5 years old. Young walruses are protected by the entire herd. In times of danger, females cover the juveniles with their bodies so that no one accidentally crushes them when a panicked retreat to the water begins. While swimming, a tired calf can climb onto any adult and rest.

State of the population and relationship with humans

In the 18th-19th centuries. Commercial fishing for the Atlantic walrus has led to the almost complete extinction of this animal. Currently, hunting for it is prohibited everywhere, but some indigenous peoples of the north are allowed to hunt a small number of walruses, but always for their own consumption with a ban on the sale of meat, fat or bones of the animal. For a European, walrus meat dishes do not seem tasty, but cooked walrus tongue is considered a delicacy.

The Chukchi, Yupik peoples (Russian Far East) and Inuit (North America) consume walrus meat all winter, flippers are preserved and stored until spring, tusks and bones are used to make various tools, amulets and jewelry. Waterproof thick skin - for finishing houses and boats. With modern, cheap building materials available in the far north, walruses are no longer as vital to survival as they were 100 years ago, but they are still sought after by many indigenous peoples, and carving and beading of walrus skin is an important art form.

Walrus population sizes are difficult to determine. The fertility of animals and their mortality are not fully understood. The difficult climatic conditions of the walrus habitat also complicate the count. The Pacific walrus is currently classified as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. The Atlantic walrus and the Laptev population are included in the Red Book of Russia and are assigned to the second (declining in numbers) and third (rare) rarity groups, respectively.

The effects of global warming are another concern for zoologists. The volume and thickness of pack ice (at least 3 meters thick and older than 2 years) is constantly decreasing, which affects the birth rate of animals and the disappearance of their usual habitats.

According to various estimates, the size of all walrus populations is 200-250 thousand animals.

• During the last ice age, walruses were distributed up to 37 degrees north latitude. This is evidenced by the found remains dating back 28 thousand years. near San Francisco in the USA. At the same latitude is the northern border of the African continent, Greece, Japan, and Turkey.

Video

The walrus is a unique animal of the Arctic. It belongs to the group of pinnipeds, the walrus family. The family has one genus and one species. The species is divided into two subspecies: Pacific walrus And Atlantic. The animal's habitat is vast and covers almost most of the coastal waters of the Arctic Ocean. Walrus rookeries can be found on the western and eastern shores of Greenland, Spitsbergen and Iceland. Pinniped giants live on Novaya Zemlya and the Kara Sea.

Large concentrations of walruses are observed in the Bering Strait area and in the Chukchi Sea. The yellowish-brown bodies can be seen in coastal areas of Wrangel Island and along the cold northern coast of Eastern Siberia. The northern coast of Alaska and the Beaufort Sea are also their home. They cluster in both the Gulf of Anadyr and Norton Bay. They also paid attention to the Bristol Bay of the Bering Sea, where they gather during the blessed summer months.

It should be noted right away that walruses do not sit still all year round. In summer they reach 79° N. w, in winter they move south. They settle in the southern parts of the Bering Sea, in the north of the Kamchatka Peninsula, and settle on the southern coast of Alaska. In spring and autumn they prefer to spend time in the Gulf of Anadyr and off the western coast of Alaska. This applies to Pacific walruses, which are an order of magnitude larger than Atlantic walruses. The latter number no more than 20 thousand, since man has tried hard to reduce the number of these unique animals to an insignificant figure that does not in any way correspond to the vast expanses of the Arctic.

They stand apart walruses of the Laptev population. They chose a strictly defined zone for themselves. These are the central and western regions of the Laptev Sea, Kotelny Island, Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island, and the Lena River delta. They also live in the eastern regions of the Kara Sea, and are found on the island of New Siberia and in the western regions of the East Siberian Sea. Their number fluctuates around 10 thousand, which is of course very small for this vast area.

Walrus — very large animal. The body length of some individuals can reach 5 meters, and the weight can reach one and a half tons. The average length of a male is 3.5 meters, weight fluctuates within a ton. Females are smaller. Their usual length is, as a rule, 2.8-2.9 meters, weight is about 700-800 kg. All adult walruses have tusks protruding from their mouths. Their length reaches 60-80 cm, and each weighs at least 3 kg.

This pinniped has a very wide snout. A thick and long mustache grows on the upper lip. They are called vibrissae, somewhat reminiscent of a brush and are indispensable for detecting underwater mollusks. The eyes are small and myopic. The mighty inhabitant of the northern waters sees very poorly, but he has an excellent sense of smell. There are no external ears, and short yellow-brown hair grows on the skin. With age, hair loss occurs. Surviving walruses have completely bare skin.

It is notable for being very thick and durable. Its thickness is 4 cm, and on the chest it is twice as thick. That is skin is a powerful protective shell. In males it is still covered with peculiar tubercles, which is a secondary sexual characteristic. The animal's flippers are also interesting. The anterior ones are very flexible, mobile and calloused. The rear ones can bend at the heel joint. This allows the animal to rely on them while moving on stones, ground or ice.

The two throat pouches are also of interest. They fill with air, and the walrus's neck begins to resemble an inflated ball. The muscles of the esophagus contract and prevent air from escaping. Thus, the fanged pinniped turns into a kind of float. His body can no longer drown, but is located at the surface of the water in a vertical position. In a similar way, these animals sleep in harsh and cold waters. Only the nose and swollen neck of the inhabitant of northern waters are visible above the sea surface.

Reproduction and lifespan

These pinnipeds reproduce very slowly. Males and females reach sexual maturity only at the 5th age. Love games begin in the spring - this is April, May. They are accompanied by fights between males. Pregnancy lasts 340-370 days. The female gives birth to one baby; twins appear very rarely. A newborn weighs 30 kg, its body length is 80 cm, sometimes a little more. The baby feeds on mother's milk for more than a year. Only in the second year of life, when its fangs reach a more or less acceptable length, does the cub begin to independently obtain food for itself.

The cub remains near the mother until the age of two. After this, the female is in no hurry to reproduce the next offspring. She gives birth no more than once every 4 years. In general, no more than 5% of all females become pregnant every year. Walruses grow up to 20 years of age. They generally live 30 years. The maximum lifespan of these pinnipeds is 35 years. True, there is a strong opinion that some individuals live to be 40 and even 50 years old.

Behavior and nutrition

Walrus - herd animal. Its habitat extends to coastal waters, where the depth does not exceed 50 meters. This is the thickness of water that is considered optimal for it. The pinniped finds food on the seabed. Sensitive vibrissae help him in this. The priority is undoubtedly given to shellfish. The animal “plows” the muddy soil with its fangs and many shells rise up. The pinniped giant grinds them with its powerful calloused front flippers and thus cracks the shell. It settles to the bottom, and gelatinous bodies remain floating in the water column. The animal eats them and again sinks its fangs into the sea soil. He needs to eat at least 50 kg of shellfish per day to be satisfied.

Various worms, crustaceans and carrion can also serve as food. Walruses don't like fish. They eat it very rarely, when there is simply no other choice. There are cases when powerful animals attack seals and narwhals. But this, as a rule, is done by individual individuals - sort of bloodthirsty monsters. The majority of walruses never do this. They also completely lack cannibalism. These pinnipeds, on the contrary, are very friendly and united. In case of danger, they always come to each other's aid. The attitude towards the cubs is very tender and reverent. The mother is ready to give her life for her little blood at any moment. If she dies, other females take custody of the cub.

Walrus rookeries are spectacular sights. Hundreds of huge bodies lie pressed closely together on the rocky shore. Some crawl into the water, others return to land. In this living mass, isolated skirmishes between males occur, and tender friendships begin. There are also shift guards. They protect the peace of the herd and, in case of danger, raise a loud roar. Massive carcasses immediately quickly crawl into the sea. It happens that young walruses die in stampedes. But more often mothers save them by covering them with their bodies. In addition to land, these pinnipeds also establish rookeries on small ice floes. Pack ice is not used for such purposes. On it, females only give birth to cubs.

Enemies

The mighty pinnipeds have only three enemies in the vast Arctic lands. Humans are in first place, followed by polar bears, and killer whales are in third place. Everything is clear with the person. He kills walruses for their meat, skin, fat and tusks. True, in recent decades the thoughtless destruction of these amazing animals has come to an end. Various restrictions and rules have been introduced that make it possible to somehow influence the population and prevent the complete extermination of unique creations of nature. Nowadays, walrus hunting is allowed only to the indigenous inhabitants of the Arctic - the Chukchi and Eskimos. All other citizens are deprived of such rights. Such activity is considered poaching.

Although the polar bear is a dangerous opponent for the fanged pinniped, it cannot cope with it in the water. The walrus is more adapted to the depths of the sea and in a fight with a four-legged predator always emerges victorious. On land, defeating a seasoned bear cleaver is also problematic. Weak, sick individuals and cubs are good for him. In any case, the bear is not a frequent visitor to walrus rookeries. Only hunger can motivate him to fight with the mighty pinniped. If there are a lot of seals around, then the walruses have nothing to worry about, since their white-skinned enemy will always prefer this prey.

Swift killer whales also pose a real threat to walruses. These mammals reach a length of 9 meters. They have powerful jaws and sharp teeth. The fanged pinniped cannot withstand the onslaught of a ferocious predator that is almost three times larger in size and four times heavier. The poor animal can only escape if it gets to land in time. In open waters, a pod of one and a half dozen killer whales can easily cope with five dozen walruses. The tactics of toothy predators are the same. They wedge themselves into a flock of their victims, break it into pieces, surround one of them and destroy it. That's actually all the enemies. No one else can resist these fanged heroes in the Arctic lands.