ORDER V. THE CARNIVOUA. 227 



tance ; the liiml feet extend straiglit backwards, and togetlier form a sort of 

 tail fin, though they are not united, and their length corresponds to that of 

 the fore paws. 



T. Jio.sinu) us. — This is the only species of which we have any descrip- 

 tion, and is familiarly known as the Morse, or Sea Horse. It has a seal- 

 like appearance, and, indeed, possesses many of the cliaracters, both physi- 

 cal and mental, of the p/tocida:. The length of the walrus is from fifteen to 

 twenty feet, and it exceeds in bulk, Cuvier states, that of the largest bulls. 

 Tiie color varies with age: the young are black; they then become brown, 

 and gradually more and more pale, till in old age tiiey become (piite white. 

 Tiie tusks, whicli liang down over the mouth in a most singular manner, are 

 from fifteen to tiiirty inches long, and weigh from five to ten pounds. They 

 are whiter tlian the purest ivory, and arc much esteemed for similar pin- 

 poses. Besides their utility in procuring food, they are a powerful weapon 

 of defence against its great enemies, the ice bear and sword-fish, and also 

 enable the animal to raise his enormous carcass upon the ice, or rocky, pre- 

 cipitous shores. 



The sea is the scene of the active life of the walruses, to which all their 

 limbs are admirably adapted, and where they move with great velocity, 

 ecpialling that of the wliale itself. On the land, however, their movements 

 are awkward, and a[iparently irksome, their gait being, according to Mar- 

 tens, " a kind of jerking; they can make considerable springs, and advance 

 pretty rapidly, with the help of tlieir teeth." Their food is of a various 

 character, sea-weed (J'tccus digilutuK) , shrimps, craw-fisli, and young 

 seals. Sometimes, when on the land, they abstain from all food for many 

 days ; a peculiarity which we have witnessed in the seals. Lord Shuldon 

 remarks on this point, — speaking of the walruses of the Gulf of St. Law- 

 rence, — that they are in the habit of crawling up to tlie shore, at a con- 

 venient landing-place, and of remaining, sometimes fourteen days together, 

 without food, when the weather is fair, but on the first appearance of rain, 

 they I'Ctreat to the sea with great precipitation. 



Tliese creatures are of a very social nature, affectionate towards each 

 other, and strongly devoted to their young. They herd t(igcthcr in vast 

 numbers, sometimes amounting to thousands ; thus Captain Cook relates : 

 "At one o'clock we got entangled with the edge of the ice, on which lay an 

 innumerable number of sea horses. They were lying in herds of many 

 hundreds, huddled one over the other like swine, and were roaring or braying 

 very loud, so that in the night, or in foggy weatiier, they gave us notice of 

 the vicinity of the ice before we could see it. They were seldom in a hurry 

 to get away till after they had once been fired at, when tliey would tumble 

 over each other into the sea, in the utmost confusion." Taught the necessity 



