Twelve walrus facts, fact-checked
The walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) is built around two tools: tusks and whiskers. Full profile in our walrus guide.
1. Tusks are ice picks
The genus name means tooth-walker. Walruses hook their tusks over ice edges to haul themselves out — bodies that can exceed a tonne.
2. Tusks are elongated canines
Present in both sexes, growing throughout life and reaching about a metre in large males.
3. They have around 600 whiskers
Vibrissae so sensitive they detect clams buried in seabed sediment in total darkness.
4. They suck clams out of shells
Powerful suction extracts the flesh, leaving the shell behind. A walrus may eat thousands in one feeding bout.
5. They can weigh over 1,500 kg
Among the largest pinnipeds, behind only elephant seals.
6. Their skin changes colour
Pale, almost white in cold water as blood is drawn inward; flushing pink or brown when warm as vessels dilate.
7. Air sacs act as flotation
Inflatable pouches in the neck let them sleep vertically in water.
8. Herds haul out in thousands
Densely packed groups on ice or beaches, where stampedes triggered by disturbance can kill many animals, especially calves.
9. Calves stay with mothers for years
Nursing for up to two years and remaining alongside her for longer — unusually prolonged for a pinniped.
10. Sea ice loss forces coastal haul-outs
Without ice near feeding grounds, herds crowd onto beaches, increasing stampede deaths and lengthening foraging trips.
11. Ivory drove historic hunting
Commercial hunting for tusk ivory, oil and hides severely reduced populations before regulation.
12. They are Vulnerable
Assessed as Vulnerable, with sea ice loss the dominant long-term pressure alongside disturbance and subsistence hunting pressure in places.
Read the full walrus wildlife guide for IUCN status, population context and sources — or donate to WARN to help fund the partner teams protecting wildlife on the ground.
