Amanda Driskell, age 10, of E1 Paso, Tex., for her question:
HOW LONG DOES A WALRUS LIVE?
You can see the walrus in the zoo, but to see him living in the wilds you'll have to travel to parts of the Artic, North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. The animal's four feet are flattened into flippers, making him a good swimmer. Walruses can live to be 40 years old.
Scientists classify the walrus as a kind of large seal. An adult male grows to be about 12 feet long and weighs up to 3,000 pounds.
The walrus is the only seal with tusks. The tusks, which are its upper canine teeth, point downward and may grow as long as 39 inches. A walrus defends himself from polar bears with its tusks. He also uses them as hooks when climbing onto ice.
Walruses do not attack man, but an angry, wounded walrus can injure a hunter and damage his boat with his tusks.
A walrus makes a loud bellow that can be heard for half a mile. This bellowing helps hunters find the animals.
Walruses are mammals. The female walrus usually has one calf every other year and cares for her young for about two years. Twins are very rare. Baby walruses are grayish brown and the adults are rusty brown.
Most walruses live in herds, but some live alone.
Eskimos hunt walruses and use the meat for food. Eskimos also use the hides to make shelters or boats and burn the blubber oil for heat and light. Some Eskimos carve walrus tusks into figures of animals and hunting scenes.
During the winter and spring, walruses drift along on large floating fields of ice. In summer, some may rest on shore.
A walrus spends much of its time in the water searching for food. It usually looks for its favorite food, clams.
As the walrus looks for clams, he goes skidding along the ocean bottom on his tusks. The animal uses his tongue to form a vacuum to suck clams into his mouth.
A walrus has bristles on his upper lip. These bristles are sensitive to touch and probably help the walrus find food.
A seal that is even larger than the walrus is the southern elephant seal, which lives in the sub Antarctic waters off South America. The male may grow to be 21 feet long and weigh as much as 8,000 pounds.
The giant elephant seal ranks second in size only to whales among all sea mammals.
At the other end of the scale is the ringed seal of the Arctic. This animal is the smallest of the seals, measuring about four and a half feet long and weighing about 200 pounds.