4 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



hunting it as in hunting some beasts of lesser bulk, yet the 

 conditions under which the sport is pursued, as well as the 

 nature of the sport itself, are such as will probably tempt one 

 who has once tried this form of sport to return to it. 



An average-sized four-year-old bull walrus will measure 

 lo ft. in length and about the same in girth. The weight is, 

 of course, difficult to determine, but it is probably about 

 3,000 lbs., of which 350 lbs. may be reckoned as blubber, and 

 300 lbs. as hide. A large old bull will probably weigh and 

 yield half as much again. The blubber, to be utilised, is 

 mixed with that of the seals which may be obtained, and the 

 oil which is extracted by heat and pressure sold as ' seal oil ' ; 

 the hide, which is from i in. to i^'in. in thickness, and makes 

 a soft, spongy leather, is exported principally to Russia and 

 Germany, where it is used for harness, ammunition-boots, &c. 



The walrus is a carnivorous animal, feeding mostly upon 

 shellfish and worms, and is therefore generally found in the 

 shallow waters along a coastline, diving for its food on banks 

 which lie at a depth of from two to twenty fathoms below the 

 surface. Deeper than that the walrus does not care to go ; in 

 fact, it generally feeds in about fifteen fathoms. The tusks 

 are principally iised to plough up the bottom in search of food, 

 but are also employed as weapons, and in climbing on to ice. 

 They are composed of hard, white ivory, set for about 6 ins. 

 of their length in a hard bony mass, about 6 ins. in diameter, 

 which forms the front part of the head ; the breathing passage 

 runs through this mass, and terminates in two ' blow-holes ' 

 between the roots of the tusks. The tusk itself is solid, except 

 that portion which is embedded in the bone, and this is filled 

 with a cellular structure containing a whitish oil. Both sexes 

 have tusks, but those of the cow do not run quite so large as 

 those of the bull. The yearling calf has no tusks, but at the 

 end of the second year it has a pair about 2 ins. in length, 

 which grow to about 6 ins. in the third year. The largest pair 

 I have measure 18 J ins. round the curve of the tusk fron) skull 

 to point, and girth 7^ ins. near the base ; but I have seen 



