walrus

(also called ‘sea horse’)  {plural – the same spelling ‘walrus’ or ‘walruses’}

a kind of animal – mammal – semi-aquatic (= living partly in water and partly on land} – belongs to the ‘true seals’ family – large, cigar-shaped body in dark brown, pink colour, square, broad head with a blunt snout (= mouth and nose part), small eyes, no external ears, total 18 teeth – two of which grow very long downwards on either side of the mouth from the upper jaw, 400-700 whiskers around the snout, called ‘vibrissae’, short, thick neck with an air sac on the throat, thick skin, legs – front and back – changed into flippers, back flippers can be rotated to forward position, no tail; size: 8-14 feet in length and1-2 (1000- 2000 Kg.) tons in weight; feeds on (eats) the soft-bodied animals that live on the bottom of the sea – clams, snails, mussels, worms, sea cucumbers, and, occasionally, small seals; lives for 30-50 years; only one of its kind in its family with sub-species, found in the Arctic Ocean and the sub-Arctic seas

male ~~ bull

female ~~ cow

baby ~~ pup; calf

group ~~ herd, huddle (on land); pod (in water)

voice (call) ~~ {no particular name} whistle, beep, bark, strum, rasp, clack teeth, bell-like sounds

Special Features:

tusks & mustache

The most visible feature of the walrus is its ‘tusks’ which both bulls and cow grow.

They are the canine teeth that grow downwards from the upper jaw, which grow to 3-4 feet in length and 5 Kg. in weight.  The walrus use these tusks to haul themselves up on to the land or ice from water, to dig air holes for breathing when they are in under ice sheets, to rake the floor to disturb the shellfish, and, males, to fight with other males during mating season!

whiskers/mustache

The walrus have 400-700 very sensitive whiskers, called ‘vibrissae’, round their snout, which they use for finding or sensing the prey in the murky bottom waters of the seas!

Walrus stay warm even in very cold waters with the help of the 3-4 inch-thick fat layer, called ‘blubber’. They have thick, rough and wrinkled which give them firm hold on the slippery ice while moving!

Walrus have been hunted for their meat, skin, blubber, bone and tusks for hundreds of years.  In Alaska, the Eskimos have been using practically every part of the walrus in their traditional day-to-day life. The meat is eaten; the intestines are either eaten or made into raincoats; the ‘blubber’ (fat) is used as oil for cooking, lighting and keeping warm; stomach is used as container and (music) drums; skin is used in making boats, shelters, rope and boots; the bones are used as tools and spear-heads; and the tusks are used as weapons, and in making decorative item and in art!

Figures of Speech:

walrus mustache

walrus moustache  =  a thick, bushy moustache hanging over the lips and drooping (= falling) over the sides

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