284 



THE FIN-FOOTED ANIMALS 



with their suckling cubs. Arctic explorers say that 

 a single ice floe often carries twenty or more Wal- 

 ruses. Their dark bodies are closely huddled to- 

 gether, the head being inclined to the side on 

 account of the long tusks, or resting on the body of 

 a neighbor; "in this way, bored by the sight of the 

 sun shining for months or by the monotonous noise 

 of the surf, they sleep through the greater part of 

 their existence." At least one Walrus mounts guard 

 as a sentinel among the sleeping ones, and at the 

 sight of danger it wakes the rest with its loud voice, 

 or, if necessary, with a slight push of its tusks, and 

 the whole herd then prepares either for flight or for 

 defense. Where the Morse has not yet made the 

 acquaintance of Man, a strange ship scarcely rouses 

 the attention of the sentinel or the herd in general, 

 and not even the report of a cannon disturbs them, 

 as everybody in the Arctic Ocean is used to such 

 detonations, the ice sometimes bursting on large 

 tracts with a noise as of thunder. 



Movements of In regard to the character of their 

 Walruses on Land movements they seem to approach 



and in Water, nearest to the Eared Seals. On land 

 the gait of the Walrus is heavy and unwieldy ; still 

 it does not creep, but walks, moving the feet simul- 

 taneously crosswise, and differing from other ani- 

 mals of similar gait only in putting the toes of the 

 fore-feet and the heels of the hind-feet to the front. 

 In climbing steep blocks of ice the Walrus is said to 

 have recourse to both of its long tusks, hooking 

 them into clefts and crevices and pulling the heavy 

 body up by them ; then it again stretches its neck 

 and repeats the performance until it has reached the 

 desired halting place. Still these tusks can hardly 

 be considered to be a necessary implement to aid 

 the Walrus in walking, as the Eared Seals, which are 

 not less heavy, make progress in similar localities 

 without them. I believe it to be more probable 

 that the Walrus makes for itself a way through drift- 

 ice with the help of the tusks. It is not unlikely 

 that by similar efforts it forms the openings in the 

 ice for breathing, which it uses and keeps open as 

 well as do the other Seals. It also surely employs its 

 tusks in rooting up the ground searching for food, 

 and also uses them as a means of defense, sometimes 

 even breaking the planks of a boat with them. The 

 Morse enters the water either by gliding over steep 

 places or by throwing itself into the waves with one 

 leap, like other Seals. After the manner of its kin 

 it is as swift and easy in swimming as it is slow on 

 the ground or on the ice; it dives to a considerable 

 depth and is certainly able to stay under water for 

 several minutes. In swimming, the creature's speed 

 is superior to that of any boat propelled by oars, and 

 it gives evidence of a nearly untiring endurance. 

 The voice of the Walrus resembles the lowing of a 

 Cow, or the deep, hoarse bark of a Dog, changing to 

 a positive bellowing when in anger. During the 

 breeding season the voice is heard so far, that Cap- 

 tain Cook and his sailors always knew, from the noise 

 they made, the distance from a coast in fog or at 

 night, and were thus enabled to avoid a collision of 

 the ship with the ice. 



Mode of Life It is a very difficult matter to pass 



of the Wat- judgment on the mental qualities of 

 rus. jhi s animal from the observations 



that have so far been made, though we may suppose 

 that the Walruses are not less sagacious than the 

 other Seals. In regard to the acuteness of their 

 senses, Pechuel-Loesche says : "Their sight is poor; 

 their hearing is far better, and their sense of smell is 



extremely keen, as, under favorable conditions, they 

 scent Man at least at a distance of several hundred 

 paces, and one who wishes to approach them must 

 therefore pay careful attention to the wind." In 

 spite of the extreme indifference it assumes towards 

 Man at its first encounter, the Walrus alters its de- 

 meanor as it gathers experience, and opposes the 

 Lord of Creation with energy and intelligence. 

 Among its noteworthy qualities we must notice not 

 only the curiosity peculiar to all Seals but also an 

 amount of courage unusual in a Pinniped. Walruses 

 enter into violent combats with each other, as well 

 as with their enemies, but only during the breeding 

 season, which usually occurs during the latter part 

 of spring. At this time the males not only roar and 

 bellow at all hours of the day, but also attack each 

 other, and tear such deep wounds in the hides of 

 their antagonists that they at times afford a scarcely 

 less horrid spectacle than do other Seals, which may 

 be said to have been torn in shreds during their duels. 

 The Female Wal- The female gives birth to a single 

 rus and Her cub in a season, and she devotes 

 Cub. herself to it with most faithful ma- 



ternal affection ; she looks to its sustenance and 

 education in a self-sacrificing way, and defends it in 

 peril with all the courage and fury of her race. The 

 cub returns her affection tenderly and does not de- 

 sert its mother even in death. If one kills the cub, 

 he may count on the most obdurate resistance and 

 unquenchable revengefulness of the mother. 

 Food of the Wal- The researches of Malmgren and 

 rus— How Pro- Brown point to the fact that the 

 cured. Walrus feeds exclusively on animal 



matter. Both found a shell {Mya truficata), which 

 in the northern parts of the Arctic Ocean covers all 

 banks and cliffs, and another one (Saxicava rugosa) 

 to be the principal contents in the stomachs of the 

 individuals which they examined, and they con- 

 cluded that the Walrus employs its powerful tusks 

 principally to loosen the shells from the rocks and 

 dig them out of the mud. In doing this it swallows 

 not only other low marine animals, but also the algas 

 which are fastened to the shells and other sea-plants, 

 and also, as do so many other Seals, swallows sand 

 and pebbles. Besides the lower marine animals the 

 creature also eats fish and occasionally even the 

 meat of the larger marine mammals. 



Walruses are Walruses lying on the beach or on 

 Formidable in the an ice field are little to be dreaded, 

 Water. as their unwieldiness hinders them 



from successful attacks, but in the water they com- 

 mand all their agility and strength. Occasionally 

 these courageous and intrepid representatives of the 

 Seal family attack even' without provocation, and 

 force sailors into unintended combats. The Arctic 

 explorers, Payer and Copeland, give us an animated 

 and graphic description of such an encounter : "If 

 such a monster catches sight of a boat, it lifts itself 

 above the surface of the water in sheer amazement, 

 utters its cry of alarm, which consists of oft-repeated 

 short barks, and swims towards the boat with all 

 possible speed. Its cries attract others, wake the 

 sleeping animals which the boat has carefully 

 avoided touching, and in a short time there follows 

 in the wake of the frail little vessel a number of 

 these monsters, raging in simulated or real fury. It 

 may be that the animals are inspired by curiosity 

 only ; but the way in which this curiosity finds ex- 

 pression is by no means happily selected, and the 

 suspicion that they wish to turn the boat over, in 

 order to examine it more fully, lies very near the 



