Walrus

Walrus — © Zveriki.com, AI-generated image based on the original work of Dolovis (uploader), Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International
Length
2200–3600 mm
Lifespan
10958–14610 days 30–40 years
40994
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1
walrus
en
walrus
Odobenus rosmarus
338
The walrus is a large marine mammal with long tusks. It lives in the cold waters of the Arctic and uses its tusks to climb onto the ice and search for food.
The walrus differs from other pinnipeds with its very long tusks that grow throughout life. It is important for Arctic nature because it mixes the seabed soil and serves as food for polar bears.
benthophagy
trophic:carnivore
#fdfdfc
Mass (adult carnivoran, female)
400000–1200000 g
Mass (adult carnivoran, male)
800000–1700000 g
Mass (embryo)
0–65000 g
Mass (young)
50000–400000 g
Length (adult carnivoran, male)
2500–3600 mm
Length (adult carnivoran, female)
2200–3000 mm
Length (embryo)
1–1200 mm
Length (young)
1200–2200 mm
Height
178–4500 mm
Lifespan maximum
18263 days 50 years
Theoretical lifespan
11768–16812 days 32–46 years
Gestation
331 days 11 months
Litter size
1
Maturity
1825–3650 days 5–10 years
Offspring
1
Repro interval
730–1095 days 2–3 years
Tusks count (young)
2
Vibrissae count (young)
400–700
Vibrissae count (adult carnivoran)
400–700
Flippers count (adult carnivoran)
4
Tusks count (adult carnivoran, male)
2
Vibrissae size (adult carnivoran)
50–300 mm
Tusks size (young)
20–150 mm
Flippers size (adult carnivoran)
300–600 mm
Tusks size (adult carnivoran, male)
500–1000 mm
Vibrissae size (young)
30–150 mm
Blubber layer temp (adult carnivoran)
-40–10 °C
Reproduction
normal sexual
Comparable in mass
Truck
Realm
Marine world
Biome
Polar Sea
Realm
Nearctic realm
Realm
Palearctic realm
Climate
Very cold
Landscape
marine coastal
Landscape
marine
Climate
Cold sea
Climate
Tundra
Climate
Polar tundra
Climate
Polar sea
Food environment
aquatic
Shelter
no permanent shelter
Trophic type
carnivore
Reproduction
live birth
Reproduction
land
Physiology
Walruses molt once a year after the mating season, shedding their old layer of skin.
10957.5
14610.0
11768.209024808744
16811.727178298206
2200.0
3600.0
Walruses molt once a year after the mating season, shedding their old layer of skin.
-1
-1
homogamy, reproduction always with fertilization, no alternation of generations
Worker
Were {name} like {animal}, then:
birth time
Pelagic Ocean
Vibrissae size
bottom
breeding
Vibrissae count
very cold, short summer, lots of moss
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
Tusks count
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
Polar tundra
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
days
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
crustaceans
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
mollusks
small planktonic crustaceans — copepods, krill
adult carnivoran
Maturity
polychaetes
About health
marine coastal
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Truck
Repro interval
results
Blubber layer color
Polar sea
protection from predators
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
all seas and oceans
Trophic type
Filters
Palearctic realm
Upcoming birthdays
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
Height
young are born live on land, not hatched from eggs or roe
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
Foraging occurs on the floor of aquatic or terrestrial habitats.
Age (embryo)
most of Europe and Asia, various forests, steppes and tundra
Wanderers
sea covered with ice or ice floes most of the year, very cold in winter
far from shore, deep water, large whales and sharks live here
Subpolar Sea
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
tundra
Tusks color
More:
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
water is almost always cold, there may be ice in winter, not hot in summer
live birth
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
live snails, mussels, oysters
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
Cold sea
very cold, lots of snow and ice
Pets
Nearctic realm
bivalve mollusks
sea almost always under thick ice, very cold
{name} jubilee
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
Flippers count
turns
Rascals
Litter size
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
more than 0.35 tons, from 2.5 meters
°C
Not specified
Share
polychaete worms
Where are they found?
Species lacks any fixed or lasting shelter structure.
Locomotion through water employed while searching for or capturing prey.
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
Very cold
normal sexual
Taxons
carnivore
if born as {name}
cold, short summer, almost no trees
age
birth date
swimming
no permanent shelter
Palearctic realm
rest
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
Vibrissae color
primary food sources
Potential Habitat
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Feeding occurs in water bodies such as rivers, lakes, or oceans.
Mass
annelid polychaetes of marine habitats
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
Gestation
aquatic
land
{name} birthday
Nearctic realm
Link copied
No results found
North America and Greenland, from tundra to forests
On the map
crustaceans
Female ♀
all life stages
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0 Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
Shelter used specifically for reproduction or nesting.
Maturity
sq mm
yr
How similar?
benthophagy
Male ♂
until the celebration
young
Tundra
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Neither
from birth to adulthood
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
Marine world
Flippers color
Duration
saline marine habitat
Flippers size
This is me
most of Europe and Asia, various forests, steppes and tundra
Gamers
How are they built?
marine
shallow near the shore, water rises and falls, crabs live here
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
coastal marine zone — shelf, neritic zone
My age?
Blubber layer temp
wk
My size?
sea almost always covered with thick ice, very cold all year round
Asexual
swap
Tusks size
Who among us will transform as if by magic and become like {animal}?
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
inhabit and develop on land, outside water bodies
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
Littoral Zone
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
Polar Sea
Hermaphrodite ⚥
North America and Greenland, from tundra to forests
embryo
Length
kg
Observations
◉{N} more on tap
young
pupa
imago
adolescent
adolescent
walrus
morzh
morjlar
fz
morzh
walrus
seiuchi
morzhi
morzh
badakokkili
morzh
morzh
morzh
morj
hai-xiang
  • Male walruses with the largest tusks usually dominate in the social group. The tusks of males are slightly longer and thicker than those of females and are used for fights.
  • Walrus tusks mainly serve a social purpose, as they are used in establishing hierarchical relationships and demonstrating threats. Observations of tusk and vibrissae wear show that walruses dig the ground not with tusks, but with the upper edge of the snout.
  • Female Pacific walruses on average weigh 794 kg, while Atlantic ones weigh 560 kg. A female of the Pacific subspecies can reach a length of up to 3.6 m.
  • Walruses have a good sense of smell and can detect a human at a considerable distance. Therefore, people try to approach them against the wind.
  • A walrus may have between 400 and 700 vibrissae on its upper lip, arranged in 13–18 rows. Their number reaches a maximum in adult individuals.
  • A walrus has paired air sacs, which inflate under the skin of the neck and allow it to swim vertically while sleeping. The sacs are formed by the bulging of the upper part of the esophagus and have no closing valves.
  • Walruses have a thick layer of fat reaching 15 cm. The thickness of the skin on the neck and shoulders of males can be up to 10 cm.
  • Atlantic walruses appeared in the White Sea in November 2018, although they had not been there for several centuries. This was their first appearance in the region after a multi-century absence.

Phenotype

  • Male walruses with the largest tusks usually dominate in the social group. The tusks of males are slightly longer and thicker than those of females and are used for fights.
  • Walrus tusks mainly serve a social purpose, as they are used in establishing hierarchical relationships and demonstrating threats. Observations of tusk and vibrissae wear show that walruses dig the ground not with tusks, but with the upper edge of the snout.
  • A walrus may have between 400 and 700 vibrissae on its upper lip, arranged in 13–18 rows. Their number reaches a maximum in adult individuals.
  • A walrus has paired air sacs, which inflate under the skin of the neck and allow it to swim vertically while sleeping. The sacs are formed by the bulging of the upper part of the esophagus and have no closing valves.
  • Walruses have a thick layer of fat reaching 15 cm. The thickness of the skin on the neck and shoulders of males can be up to 10 cm.

Physiology

  • A walrus may have between 400 and 700 vibrissae on its upper lip, arranged in 13–18 rows. Their number reaches a maximum in adult individuals.
  • A walrus has paired air sacs, which inflate under the skin of the neck and allow it to swim vertically while sleeping. The sacs are formed by the bulging of the upper part of the esophagus and have no closing valves.
  • Walruses have a thick layer of fat reaching 15 cm. The thickness of the skin on the neck and shoulders of males can be up to 10 cm.

Size

  • Female Pacific walruses on average weigh 794 kg, while Atlantic ones weigh 560 kg. A female of the Pacific subspecies can reach a length of up to 3.6 m.

Geography

  • Atlantic walruses appeared in the White Sea in November 2018, although they had not been there for several centuries. This was their first appearance in the region after a multi-century absence.

Feeding

  • Walruses have a good sense of smell and can detect a human at a considerable distance. Therefore, people try to approach them against the wind.
  • Male walruses with the largest tusks usually dominate in the social group. The tusks of males are slightly longer and thicker than those of females and are used for fights.
  • Walrus tusks mainly serve a social purpose, as they are used in establishing hierarchical relationships and demonstrating threats. Observations of tusk and vibrissae wear show that walruses dig the ground not with tusks, but with the upper edge of the snout.
  • Walruses have a good sense of smell and can detect a human at a considerable distance. Therefore, people try to approach them against the wind.
  • A walrus may have between 400 and 700 vibrissae on its upper lip, arranged in 13–18 rows. Their number reaches a maximum in adult individuals.
  • A walrus has paired air sacs, which inflate under the skin of the neck and allow it to swim vertically while sleeping. The sacs are formed by the bulging of the upper part of the esophagus and have no closing valves.