204 



FLESH-EATERS OF THE SEA 



struction of the skull. The lower jaw lacks both incisor and 

 canine teeth, and is compressed laterally to fit in between 

 two enormous canine teeth, or tusks, which are set in the 

 upper jaw, and are inclined downwards with a gentle curve. 

 The length of these tusks is sometimes a couple of feet, with 

 a girth of seven inches at the base, and each weighing 

 upwards of ten pounds. The primary object of the ivory 

 tusks is to act as ice-hooks, enabling the animal to haul 

 itself out of the water on to the ice. They are also used 

 in raking out of the sand and mud the cockles, mussels, 

 worms, and other shore-frequenting creatures on which 

 the animal feeds. It does not disdain the offal of a 



dead whale, or indeed any 

 animal food that calls for no 

 chase in getting it. 



The nostrils of the Walrus, 

 instead of terminating in a 

 snout, are situated far above 

 the mouth, on what appears 

 to be the middle of the face. 

 The ears are merely two small 

 orifices ; the neck is short ; 

 the lips are thick. Almost all 

 the hair-producing power of 

 SKULL AND DENTITION OF WALRUS, the animal seems to be con- 

 centrated in the upper lips, 

 which are thickly covered with 

 enormously developed bristles, 



sharply pointed, and so large as to remind the spectator 

 of the quills of the porcupine. The generic name, Trichechus, 

 is formed from a Greek word signifying a hair or bristle. 



Notwithstanding its intensely ferocious appearance, the 

 Walrus is a markedly inoffensive creature, except during the 

 breeding season, when the males will fight desperately with 

 each other for the locality which they select for their 

 nurseries, and the result is that there is not an old male to 

 be found that is not covered with scars from the tusks 

 of his rivals. 



The Walrus is a very sociable creature, loving to herd in 

 hundreds. Captain Cook thus describes his meeting with 



A. Skull of adult animal. 



B. Palate and dentition of young. 



C. Lower jaw and dentition of young. 



