Walrus Facts
The walrus is a large Arctic marine mammal, a pinniped with long tusks, whiskers and a huge body, and the only living member of its family.
- Class
- Mammal
- Scientific name
- Odobenus rosmarus
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)
About the walrus
Walruses live in patches around the North Pole, in Arctic waters and the subarctic seas nearby. Two subspecies exist, the Atlantic walrus and the Pacific walrus. Pacific males can top 2,000 kilograms, and among seals and their relatives only the two elephant seal species are bigger. They spend much of their time in shallow water over the continental shelf and on sea ice, hunting clams and other bivalves on the bottom.
These are long-lived, social and smart animals, and they are a keystone species in the Arctic. Indigenous Arctic peoples have long hunted them, using the meat, fat, skin, bone and tusks. Heavy hunting in the 19th and early 20th centuries sent numbers crashing, and they have only partly recovered.
Did you know?
- An adult male Pacific walrus can weigh more than 4,400 pounds.
- The plural of walrus can be walrus or walruses.
- Atlantic and Laptev walrus populations remain fragmented and low.
Questions about the walrus
Where do walruses live?
Around the North Pole, in Arctic waters and nearby subarctic seas.
Are walruses endangered?
The IUCN lists the walrus as vulnerable.
Sources
- Wikidata Q40994, checked October 8, 2026
- Wikipedia: Walrus, checked October 8, 2026
Facts are compiled from these open sources and rewritten in our own words. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.