Birthing

Female walruses carry their young for 15 months. The females reach reproductive maturity at the age of 9 or 10 and they usually have calves every 2-3 years. The young are born out on the ice in April and May and so begins the constant surveillance of the vulnerable calves. Adults may take a swim to look for food but the young are never left unsupervised. Both parents keep a keen eye out for polar bears their only natural enemies. In the event that a young walrus is orphaned another female will adopt them as their own. The claves are nursed for 2 years. Scientists believe prolonged nursing is responsible for the low mortality rate of walruses. They think that longer nursing allows the walrus to achieve advanced development prior to weaning which leaves them well-equipped to forage for food and escape predators.