Unique Characteristics

Their bodies are alarmingly large. An adult can grow to be 2 tons in The young begin to develop their large canines or tusks at the age of four months. They can grow to 1 metre in length on males and 60 cm on females. Tusks are used for turning up food on the bottom of the sea. The walrus drags his tusks along the sea bottom while rooting out prey with his snout and stiff facial bristles. They subsist on clams, crabs, shrimps, worms, sea cucumbers and other bottom dwelling sea life. Tusks are also used for hooking onto the edge of an ice floe if a walrus wants to rest while still in the water. A walrus can actually kill a polar bear with his tusks but they generally do so in self-defence and don't actively hunt polar bears. Historically walrus tusks have been a valuable commodity.