![]() Walruses can live up to the age of 40 years old. Want to learn more? We have put together a full article with everything you need to know about walrus tusks. However, sometimes conflict is unavoidable, and predators can be impaled by the tusks in a fight. The primary use of the tusks is to use them as a visual threat display, to discourage any predators 12 (source: J.G. Walruses use their tusks as protection both physically and visually. For example, female walruses use their tusks to defend their calves 11 (source: I. Although their tusks are enlarged canine teeth, walruses use their tusks for more defensive purposes, rather than for hunting animals. Walruses protect themselves from predators using their tusks. How Do Walrus Protect Themselves From Predators? However, walruses can be dangerous and attacks have been documented by the Inuit community and Arctic explorers 10 (source: Wikipedia). The hunt for walruses continues to date, particularly by Alaskan Inuits who can still legally sell walrus ivory within the US 9 (source: CAMEO). This led to the overexploitation of walrus populations and determined both the settlement and abandonment of Greenland. The trade also became very profitable when elephant tusks became scarcer. Countries in Europe and Asia popularised this and encouraged commercial hunting. One of the usages for tusks is to carve artwork into them. The valuable parts of the walrus are their blubber, hide, skulls and tusks (ivory). At first, walruses were hunted by Inuit countries in the Arctic region for subsistence this includes eating. Walruses have been hunted since at least the tenth century. This prevented the walruses from escaping into the sea.Įnjoying earning about walruses? See our full walrus facts article for more interesting information, including why they have tusks and mustaches. They began jumping out of the water and breaching the shore whilst the walruses were resting. You may be surprised to hear that the orcas did not end their pursuit when the walruses retreated to land. They made as many as 55 attacks on the target during 17 minutes, although the hunt was ultimately unsuccessful in this instance. During the hunt, the orcas attacked the whole group of walruses before picking out an injured adult or calf as their target. Researchers observed orcas hunting walruses in 2008 and detailed their findings in Biology Bulletin. The hunt of walruses by killer whales is intentional. These hunts can occur both in inshore waters and the deep sea 8 (source: N. For example, the orca (also known as a killer whale) has been observed to hunt walruses in groups. Numerous polar bears can feed on a single walrus carcass 7 (source: B.A. Tschida, Guidelines and Other Tips for Excelling at a Marine Mammal Internship, 2005). It is also a large time commitment for a single polar bear to bite through the blubber of a single walrus 6 (source: E. The dangers posed by walrus tusks encourage polar bears to use tools in their fight – polar bears can use stones or blocks of ice to hit the walruses head with 5 (source: I. Polar bears acknowledge the high risk of fighting walruses. This explains why some polar bears have been seen with injuries caused by tusks 4 (source: Arctic Museum & Arctic Studies Center, Bowdoin College). In the circumstance where the polar bear does not kill the walruses, the polar bear can retreat. Sometimes, a walrus has no other option than to defend itself physically against a polar bear. This means that a walrus retreats into the water, where it can move quicker than the polar bear 3 (sources: Arctic Museum & Arctic Studies Center, Bowdoin College and BBC World). This means that walruses have been observed to be frightened and anxious if a polar bear is present.Īs a result, walruses often retreat if they spot a polar bear around their herd. The relationship between polar bears and walruses is a typical predator-prey relationship. There have also been observations of a polar bear that has hunted a healthy adult walrus 2 (sources: Arctic Museum & Arctic Studies Center, Bowdoin College and The Polar Bear Programme). When polar bears hunt walruses, they often target the young calves or injured adults. Polar bears are natural predators of walruses.
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