WINSTON WEEKLY^[1]

April 19, 2026

Vol. 4, No. 16

WHISKERS GALORE AND MUCH MORE[2]

When they are not on ice or rocky cliffs, walruses use their massive whiskers to poke around in shallow water for clams and other shellfish, sometimes consuming between 3,000 to 6,000 clams in one meal. With nearly 700 sturdy whiskers and massive tusks, walruses love to be next to and on top of each other. Pacific walrus live between Russia and Alaska, with Atlantic walrus in Greenland, Norway, Russia, and Canada. During the summer, thousands of male Pacific walruses converge on Round Island and other islands in Alaska’s Bristol Bay.

Adults are seven to twelve feet long and weigh between 2,700 and 4,500 pounds. Females give birth every three years, with a gestation period between 15 to 16 months. At birth, calves weigh nearly 200 pounds. Although able to dive by six months, they remain with their mothers for up to five years, frequently riding on their mother’s backs when in the water.

Fully grown walruses have nearly six inches of blubber, with their four flippers propelling them to speeds of 20 to 22 miles per hour on land. Able to swim nearly as fast, they prefer a more leisurely pace of four to five miles an hour. With the capacity to hold up to 13 gallons of air in their air sacks, walruses can sleep in the water, although they often sleep up to 19 hours a day on land.  

Highly intelligent animals, walruses have a keen ability to respond to music and multiple languages. Males tend to be very vocal, producing bell-like sounds in the water, while growling, barking, and whistling on land.

 WEEKLY ACTIVITY

Explore the symbolism of walruses, their life span, and the uniqueness of Round Island, including the Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is a great starting point. www.adfg.alaska.gov.

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[1] A weekly blog/newsletter by Alysen Bayles to be shared with the appropriate attribute.

[2] Resources: The Ten Most Amazing Facts About Walrus, Noc. 24, 2022, www.arcticwwf.org; Walrus Vocalizations, Ocean Conservation Research, Aug. 8, 2023, https://ocr.org; Valerie Bodden, Walruses, Amazing Animals, 2022; John Miller and Louis Miller, Walrus, Reaktion, 2014.