472 EXTINCT AND VANISHING MAMMALS 



apart from its use as food by the natives of the Arctic coasts, 

 Townsend (in Gray, P. N., 1932, p. 176) writes: "In former 

 years, the entire walrus was used commercially. The oil 

 brought good prices. The ivory was sold to Japan, where, in 

 Yokohama, many ivory carvers were engaged carving the 

 figures of Eskimos, polar bears and walruses. These were 

 shipped to Alaska to be sold to tourists as native work. The 

 hides of the walrus were usually shipped to England or Scotland 

 to be tanned, as the process required several years to complete. 

 The finished leather was used in polishing wheels and other 

 products. However, in late years, the commercial demand has 

 fallen off and this, together with the remote habitat and un- 

 certain location, seems to warrant the belief that the walrus, 

 while more rare than formerly, is not in immediate danger of 

 becoming extinct. " 



In a recent article on the habits of the Pacific walrus, Collins 

 (1940) tabulates figures for the annual kill by Eskimos on the 

 Alaskan coasts and believes that the number taken ranges from 

 1,000 to 1,500, chiefly at St. Lawrence Island, King Island, 

 Diomede Island, and Wainwright. With the decline of whaling 

 in these waters, the walrus have been less persecuted and are 

 now in no immediate danger of extinction. The Eskimo hunt 

 them at the islands mentioned chiefly in the spring when great 

 numbers pass northward. Other than man their only enemies 

 are polar bears, which occasionally kill the young, and the killer 

 whales, which are their worst enemy, "often killing them in 

 great numbers." Collins relates that a few years ago "a large 

 herd of walrus was driven ashore by killer whales in the vicinity 

 of Panuck, St. Lawrence Island. The frightened animals piled 

 up on top of each other in such great numbers while hauling 

 out on the beach that over 200 of them were smothered and 

 crushed and left dead on the beach. The carcasses were used 

 by the Eskimos" who store the meat and blubber in caves, 

 usually keeping from one to two years' supply ahead. 



ATLANTIC WALRUS 

 ODOBENUS ROSMARUS (Linnaeus) 



[Phoca] rosmarus Linnaeus, Systema Naturae, ed. 10, vol. 1, p. 38, 1758 (Arctic seas). 

 SYNONYMS: Trichechus longidens Fremery, Bijdrag. tot de Natuurk. Wetensch., vol. 6, 



p. 384, 1831; Rosmarus arcticus Lilljeborg, Fauna ofvers Sveriges och Norges 



Ryggr., p. 674, 1874. 



