Did you chuckle when you saw the word “walrus” and “move” in the same phrase? Maybe that’s because you’ve seen video of walruses on a beach. They are as awkward on land as they are efficient in the water.
Walruses are pinnipeds, a group that includes seals and sea lions. Pinniped actually means “fin-footed.” An x-ray of a fin would show a set of bones similar to your own arm, wrist, hand, and finger bones.
On land, a walrus bends its flippers like you bend your wrists when you get down on your hands and knees. To maneuver, a walrus uses its whole body. It rocks, shifts, rolls, and squirms—whatever it takes. It may even jam its tusks into the snow as an anchor so that it can pull or slide its huge body.
Want to walk like a walrus? Get down on your hands and knees. Tuck your legs forward under your body. Lift yourself up with your arms. Heave your chest forward, and flop down. Then do it again and again.
What God did not give the walrus on land, He made up for in the water. This massive marine mammal can hold its breath for up to 10 minutes. For having such a huge body, a walrus is graceful under water. And it is fast, swimming up to 35 miles per hour. That’s probably faster than the speed limit in your town!
Want to swim like a walrus? Hold your legs out and bend your knees frog-style. Now try to kick first with one foot, then with the other in a side-to-side motion. Hold your arms out and use them as wings to steer and maneuver. Ok, you can stop now, because the lifeguard is laughing her head off.
A walrus feeds in water from 30 to 160 feet deep. It forages for worms, snails, crabs, sea cucumbers, and other bottom dwellers.
Want to eat like a walrus? Imagine spreading a mix of raisins and bread flour along the kitchen floor. The flour is the silt of the ocean floor. The raisins are the food. Get down and blow the flour away as you breathe out. Suck up the raisins as you breathe in. Be careful though. If you are as powerful as a walrus you could blast the finish off the floor and suck a hole in plywood.
Did you know?
Calves: Walrus calves weigh 100-150 pounds at birth, after a 15-month pregnancy.
Tusks: Both male and female can grow tusks up to three feet long.
Whiskers: The face of a walrus has about 500 whiskers that are very sensitive to touch.
Weight: A Pacific walrus can weigh up to 2,200 pounds and measure up to 11 feet in length.
