The Walrus                                                                           Coastal Zone

  






    
     What other animal besides an elephant has tusks? Walruses are one of the few animals that
 have tusks. Here are some facts about the amazing Walrus. 
      Walruses are mammals. Walruses have long tusks and whiskers that form a mustache. 
These tusks can be found in males and in females. The tusks grow throughout their life, they grow
up to three feet long . Walruses can grow to about twelve feet long and weigh about 1600 pounds. 
They have wrinkled brown and in some parts, pink skin.  The walrus’s whiskers are very thick. These animals are very fat and slow moving on land.   They have fairly flat flippers and they can swim.
     These animals are unfortunately prey. Walruses have very few predators. Somehow still
they can also end up being prey for a shark or a whale. Walruses eat many animals like     
 Walruses suck up clams and shellfish. They use their tusks as weapons to kill their prey. They use 
their whiskers to help them sniff out their prey.                                             
     Walruses live almost everywhere near the Arctic Ocean. They live here, because near the shore
line it is easy to catch their prey. They have food, water, and a cool area to bask in. This is all they
need to live. During mating these animals are very aggressive, the males fight each other. They 
migrate all around the Arctic coast. The babies are born very small.  The baby’s tusks grow through
out their life.                                                                                     
      We need to protect walruses  and study them.  They are interesting and amazing animals. They 
don’t just sit there all day being lazy like some people think. In my opinion they are more than just big, floppy, small  sea elephants.           

by    Nathan

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