What Is a Walrus Actually Using Its Tusks For? Life on the Arctic Ice

What Is a Walrus Actually Using Its Tusks For? Life on the Arctic Ice

The walrus is one of the Arctic's most distinctive and charismatic animals — a massive, whiskered, tusked giant that hauls itself onto ice floes in enormous, noisy groups. Those tusks are impossible to miss. But what are they actually for? The answer might surprise you — and it's not primarily what most people assume.

The Tusks — More Than Just Weapons

A walrus's tusks are elongated upper canine teeth that can grow up to 1 metre long and weigh up to 5.4 kg each. Both males and females have them. While tusks are used in social displays and fighting between males, their primary everyday uses are:

• Hauling out: Walruses use their tusks to hook onto ice and haul their enormous bodies out of the water — which is why the walrus's scientific name, Odobenus rosmarus, means "tooth-walking sea horse".
• Social status: Longer tusks signal dominance. Walruses with larger tusks get better spots on the ice and priority access to mates.
• Defence: Tusks are used to defend against polar bears and orcas.
• Ice breathing holes: Walruses use their tusks to maintain breathing holes in sea ice.

The Whiskers — A Precision Sensing System

A walrus's most remarkable feature might actually be its whiskers. Walruses have up to 700 whiskers (called vibrissae) arranged in a distinctive moustache pattern. These whiskers are extraordinarily sensitive — each one is connected to a rich network of nerves and blood vessels. Walruses use them to detect clams and other shellfish on the dark, murky seafloor, feeling for the subtle differences in texture between shells and sand with extraordinary precision.

The Clam Vacuum

Walruses don't use their tusks to dig for food — they use their powerful lips and tongue to create a vacuum, sucking clams and other molluscs directly out of their shells. A walrus can consume up to 6,000 clams in a single feeding session. They can dive to depths of over 80 metres and hold their breath for up to 30 minutes while foraging.

Fascinating Walrus Facts

• Adult male walruses can weigh up to 1,700 kg — making them one of the largest pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) on Earth.
• Walruses can slow their heart rate to survive in freezing water for extended periods.
• They are highly social, gathering in groups of thousands on beaches and ice floes.
• Walruses can inflate air sacs in their throat to keep their head above water while sleeping at sea.
• A baby walrus is called a calf and stays with its mother for up to 3 years.

Climate Change and the Walrus

Walruses depend on sea ice as a resting platform between dives. As Arctic sea ice disappears due to climate change, walruses are increasingly forced to haul out on beaches in massive, overcrowded groups — sometimes numbering in the tens of thousands. These "haul-outs" can be dangerous, with animals being crushed in stampedes. The walrus is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.

Walrus Activities for Kids

• Vacuum experiment: Use a straw to suck small objects off a plate. Discuss how walruses use suction to extract clams from shells.
• Whisker sensitivity: Blindfold kids and have them identify objects by touch alone. Discuss how walrus whiskers detect food on the dark seafloor.
• Tusk length: Measure out 1 metre on the floor. Compare to your own height. How would you manage with tusks that long?
• Sea ice research: Look up satellite images of Arctic sea ice extent over the past 40 years. Discuss what the trend means for walruses.

Explore the Arctic Through Play

Our wooden walrus figurine is part of the Icebergs collection — beautifully crafted from sustainably sourced timber, celebrating the wildlife of the frozen north.

Shop the Icebergs Collection →

Further Reading & Resources

• WWF — Walrus — WWF's walrus profile covers threats, conservation status, and how climate change is affecting walrus populations across the Arctic.
• National Geographic — Walrus — facts, photos, and videos about walruses, ideal for classroom research and independent reading.
• IUCN Red List — Walrus — the authoritative scientific assessment of walrus conservation status and population trends.
• WWF Arctic — Walrus — WWF's Arctic programme covers how sea ice loss is affecting walrus behaviour, habitat, and survival.
• DK Find Out — Walrus — child-friendly, curriculum-aligned walrus facts perfect for primary school learners.

Explore more Arctic animal facts on our Ramblings blog.