The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a not-so-pleasant appearance. It is discontinuous about North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and the subarctic sea of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the family Odobenidae and genus Odobenus.
Adult males in the Pacific can weigh more than 4,400 pounds (2,000 kilograms). An average African elephant weighs about 12,000 pounds (5,443 kilograms). It means - It is almost half of an elephant's weigh.
Diet :
Walruses live mostly in shallow waters above the continental shelves. They spending a significant amount of their lives on the sea ice looking for benthic bivalve mollusks to eat.
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.
Reproduction :
Walruses are relatively long-lived, social animals. Walruses live to about 20-30 years old in the wild. The males reach sexual maturity as early as even seven years but do not typically mate until fully developed at around 15 years of age. They rut from January through April, decreasing their food intake dramatically. The females begin ovulating as soon as four to six years old.
Calves are born during the spring migration, from April to June. They weigh 45 to 75 kg (99 to 165 pound) at birth and can swim. The mothers nurse for over a year before weaning, but the young can spend up to five years with the mothers.
Why they were hunted?
They were hunted for their meat, fat, skin, tusks, and bone. During the 19th century and the early 20th century, walruses were widely hunted and killed. After then the population of walruses dropped rapidly all around the Arctic region.
Traditional hunters used all parts of the walrus. Let's check out what they did with these body parts of this animal.
Tusk:-
They have long ivory tusks just like elephants.
The tusk of a walrus is soft enough to be carved to any shape but sturdy enough to stay for a long time. Because of this, walrus tusks were used to make jewelry in the past. wonders what the tusk made of a protein, a polymer that our hair and fingernails. The protein provides longevity and softness to the tusk.
Meat:- The meat, often preserved, is an important winter nutrition source; the flippers are fermented and stored as a delicacy until spring;
Bone:- Tusks and bone were historically used for tools, as well as material for handicrafts;
Oil:- The oil was rendered for warmth and light;
Hide:- The tough hide made rope and house and boat coverings:
and the intestines and gut linings made waterproof parkas.
Now, we have a lot of alternatives for jewelry and other accessories so this poor creature is largely spared.
Walrus meat remains an important part of local diets.
we must preserve these animals.
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