Mammal · pinniped

Walrus

Odobenus rosmarus

PacificAtlanticIndianSouthernArctic Found in 3 oceans

Depth

Feeds mostly between 10 and 100 m, record beyond 500 m

Size

2.3 to 3.6 m, up to about 1.7 t for males

Diet

Clams, sea snails, worms, crabs, shrimp, sea cucumbers

Zone

Sunlit zone · 0 – 200 m

Key facts

• It does not eat with its tusks. Its tongue works like a piston and sucks the flesh out of shellfish.
• It can swallow 3,000 to 6,000 clams in a single meal.
• Its 400 to 700 highly sensitive whiskers help it find prey hidden in the seafloor.
• In Greenland, walruses have dived to more than 500 m, a record for the species.

Verified sources

1. Alaska Department of Fish and Game : Pacific walrus
2. SeaWorld : Walrus facts
3. Ocean Conservancy : Walrus
4. Garde et al. 2018, Diving behavior of the Atlantic walrus in high Arctic Greenland (NAMMCO)

In the game: To observe

In the same zone

Leopard sealHydrurga leptonyx Arnoux’s beaked whaleBerardius arnuxii Sperm whalePhyseter macrocephalus OrcaOrcinus orca Cuvier’s beaked whaleZiphius cavirostris Southern elephant sealMirounga leonina