Essay On Walrus

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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...

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... 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).

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