The walrus, also know as the saber-tooth seal, is a large flippered mammal. Walrus means gregarious marine animal and is related to eared seals as both animals have two large down-pointing tusks. The walrus’s scientific name is Odobenus rosmarus. The walrus also has mustache. Walruses live in the Arctic. Walruses tusks are very helpful. They can haul big animal bodies out of water (i.e. tooth walking) and they also use their tusks to break holes in the ice. Walruses tusks can grow up to 3 feet for both male and female (National Geographic).
The walrus population is 250,000 animals. There are 200,000 walruses in the Pacific; however, the walrus population is decreasing due to hunters (Defenders). Walruses change color from pink to a lighter cinnamon brown to a lighter shade, when they go into colder water. When the walrus gets hot, blood pumps into its blubber and its skin and gets cooled by the air or water. When they get cold, they can reduce the blood flow to the skin and blubber to save heat. Walruses are able to adjust their temperature surroundings with their bool circular system (Library Thinkquest).
Newborns have a thin layer of blubber and are covered with a coat of short gray hairs which comes in handy since they are born on ice floes. Walruses can't see very well, but their hearing and sense of smell is really good. Walruses touch is very important because walruses are very social (Environmental Giraffe).
The two different types of walruses are the Atlantic walrus and the Pacific walrus. The Atlantic walrus inhabit coastal areas from northern eastern Canada and the Pacific walrus inhabit the northern seas off Russia and Alaska . The Atlantic walrus is bigger than the Pacific walrus (National Geographic).
Walrus tusks a...
... middle of paper ...
... the polar bear. The polar bear kills the walrus when it is on land were as the orca whale kills it when it is in the water swimming (Wheats).
Humans use walrus for many things. One, Humans eat this animal. Two, they use this animal for light in oil lamps. Three, its skin is durable so it covers big boats and its tusks make lance or spear points or are carved into a great variety of useful and ornamental objects (Library Thinkquest).
Only Native Americans can hunt walruses, as the species survival was threatened in the past by overhunting. Their tusks, oil, and meat were so sought after in the 18th and 19th centuries that walrus was hunted to extinction in the gulf of St. Lawrence and around Sable Island, off the coast of Nova Scotia. Walruses are very interesting animals and they deserve so much more attention. They are really cool animals. (National Geographic).
The tusks, giving Narwhals the name “ Sea Unicorn”, is actually a tooth that can reach up to nine feet long and can weigh up to 20 pounds. Males and females are born with two teeth pointing forward in the upper jaw#. The left tooth of the male grows long and spirals counter clockwise toward the tip. On rare occasions there have been Narwhals with twin tusks. Research on Narwhals supports the idea that the tusk is both a weapon and a symbol of dominance in ritual displays#. Some other ideas about what the tusk is used for include the following: ice breaker or and instrument to poke breathing holes in ice#; rake to stir up the sea bottom for food#; skewer to impale prey species#. One hundred out of three hundred and four males tusks are broken, this might be a result of fighting#. Narwhal tusk can heal itself. Newman, a whale expert, suggests,“If the tusk breaks, it is possible that infection is avoided because of dentine deposits which fill the broken end. This reparative function could explain descriptions by old whalers of Narwhals with broken tusks exhibiting a ‘plug’ in the broken end”# .Tusks sold for $1.25 a pound in 1962, in 1974 it went up to $25 a pound, and in 1976 it was $35#.
Their dorsal fin is extremely long, tampered and pointed in a triangular shape or rounded and curved towards the end. The skull is oval shaped and the beak is extremely short and rounded at the end. The killer whale’s jaw is powerful with teeth that are able to tear apart flesh of their prey. They can withstand the jolting, wiggling and hurtling movements of prey that are trying to escape. The killer whale is born with a single blow hole instead of two. Their flippers are paddle shaped with rounded ends and flukes are tapered back and pointed at the end resembling to a triangle/pyramid
Whales living in captivity become aggravated and have been known to take out anger on themselves by self harming. In the pools they live in, metal bars are placed in between the pools to prevent the killer whales from swimming to another pool. On several occurrences, the whales have attempted to bite and break the metal bars. This leaves the whales with broken teeth and a risk of infection. Infections in killer whales can lead to death in many cases. If a whale gets an infection, they have to be taken out of the pool and placed into another pool by themselves to prevent any problems with other killer whales they live with. In many cases, whales with infections need serious care from whale specialists.
A killer whale doesn’t have very many enemies. One of a killer whale's biggest enemies is the human species. Humans have been hunting killer whales since the 12th century; whalers around the world have killed thousands of killer whales. Other threats to killer whales are toxic wastes, oil spills, and garbage in the oceans. Oil spills are extremely dangerous because not only do they damage killer whales, but also they will hurt any thing else in the oceans. Garbage kills ocean life worldwide every year. Currently the threats are
Not many people know about the arctic wolf, it is the snowy white version of a wolf. They have a really big appite when it comes to eating. They most only eat one meal a day and eat up to 20 pounds in that one meal. They are mostly carnivores; they mainly eat big animals like the caribou and the musk ox so they can feed themselves and the whole pack (Arctic/Antarctic: The Arctic Wolf). People eat up to three meals a day, but wolves can go up to days with out eating a single thing (Arctic/Antarctic: The Arctic Wolf). When wolves are hunting they have to be able to have a plan to catch their food. Wolves would get all the pack members that are hunting to surround the animal, and pounces on them. One bit to the neck and the animal would be dead. When they are eating they will eat everything, like the meat, shin, fur and bone (Arctic/Antarctic: The Arctic Wolf). Also Arctic wolves can live up to 20 years in captivity, while they can only live 7- 15 years in the wild (Arctic/Antarctic: The Arctic Wolf). Arctic wolves are one of the most prettiest and unique types of wolf. When Arctic wolves are pups t...
* The scientific name for polar bear is Ursus maritimus which means sea bear in Latin. They were first identified by Constantine J. Phipps in 1774. Different sources express different theories on the origins of polar bears. Fossil evidence lead researchers to believe that polar bears may have split off from a population of brown bears that became isolated during the Pleistocene epoch. More recent DNA evidence suggests that polar bears became distinct species from brown bears 4-5 million years ago. It has been documented that polar and grizzly bears have produced fertile hybrid offspring. Other names for the polar bear include the Inuit word "nanook", and the Norwegian name of Isbjorn which means "ice bear."
The wide paws prevent sea ice from breaking by distributing weight while walking. Their paws allow them to pull a 600 pound seal out of its breathing hole (Rosing, 20). The webbed feet result in making polar bears, unlike other bear species to be considered as marine mammals along with seals, sea lions, walruses, whales and dolphins (Polar Bear). According to Rosing, Polar bears are excellent swimmers and have been known to swim up to six miles an hour and as far as 60 miles at a stretch. Bears paddle with their front feet and steer with their back feet.
There are many different ways in which these hunters killed the whitetail deer in the past and still use some of these objects and methods today. Blunt objects, clubs, spears, knives, axes, harpoons, bow and arrow, traps, snares and guns are some of the objects used for hunting. The Native Americans’ main way of killing deer was bow and arrow. Native American’s methods of hunting were used for centuries. The arrival of the Europeans vastly altered the hunting process. The Native Americans understood hunting, and that is what they did best. Native Americans only hunted what they needed. The entire carcass was used and the other resources were not wasted. From the web site Le Moyne Pictures, a French explorer describes the Native Americans, "The Indians, when hunting deer, used ingenuity such as we had never seen before…” (Le Moyne Index 1994). A clever invention of these Indians was to modify the carcasses of the deer into disguises (1994). This innovation allowed the Indians to get very close to the deer. The disguises made killing them a lot easier with bows and arrows. According to the article, “How the Indians Hunt Deer,” the Native Americans were described as being skillful, “they were able to remove the deer skin and prepare it without any metal knife, just shells, with such skill that I doubt there was anyone in the whole of Europe who could do it better” (1994...
Blue whales tend to feed on krills in cold water at high latitudes during the summer time (WWF). On other hand during
To begin with, the melting of polar ice caps has caused polar bears to swim long distances. According to Bryan Walsh of TIME Magazine the melting of the ice caps have caused polar bears especially the young cubs to swim longer distances which has caused a “ forty-five percent mortality rate” (Walsh). In the article Walsh, writes about a study that showed that younger cubs because of low fat and strength were more likely to die due to the long di...
Orcas, or killer whales are majestic giants of the sea. They are actually the largest type of dolphin. They have long black bodies with distinct white patches near their eyes. A killer whale can be up to 32 feet or more in length, and weigh up to 12,000 pounds. Females are a bit smaller, but live longer (Gorman). The name “killer whale” apparently came not because it is a vicious whale, but because it preys on whales. They do not have any natural predators, and they are considered the “top dog” of the ocean. Not even the great white shark stands a chance against these superb killers. “Unlike sharks, killer whales are cautious hunters, sometimes spending hours harassing a 1,000-pound sea lion so it can easily be drowned” (Francis). Orcas use many hunting tactics that are unique to their species, which is what makes them invincible.
The most unique feature of the platypus is the soft and pliable bill. The bill surface is perforated with openings that contain nerve endings, which allow the animal to locate food and aid movement under water. These pores contain two types of sensory receptors: mechanoreceptors, which respond to tactile pressure, and electroreceptors, which respond to electric fields. The eyes and ear openings are located behind the bill in a muscular groove, which contracts and closes as the platypus dives (Griffiths, 1998). The nostrils are positioned towards the tip of the bill and are slightly elevated upwards to allow breathing whilst the body is beneath the surface (Figure 1).
peregrines range across the treeless regions of Alaska and Canada. They are also found in
Humpback whales breath voluntarily, unlike humans. Since they have to remember to breath, researchers believe humpbacks sleep by shutting off half of their brain at a time. Like orcas and dolphins, humpback whales have noses at the top of their head called blowholes (Animal Planet). Humpback whale calves do not stop growing until they are ten years old (National Geographic). They breed, give birth and care for their newborn calves in the warm waters of Tonga. Instead of teeth, humpbacks have baleen plates, they are brush-like strands of bristle that trap there food until it is swallowed. They have very odd mouths that curve downwards, like an eternal frown. Humpback whales are amazing marine mammals (Big Animal Expeditions)
Polar bears also prey on young walrus’s. The remains of whale, seal, and walrus are also important sources of food for polar bears. In fact, because of their acute sense of smell, polar bears can sense animal remains from far away.