This species is categorized under the family Odobenidae.

A walrus sucks off the foot and the fleshy siphon of a clam and swallows it whole.The cheek teeth do get worn, but this is probably from abrasion by minute particles of sand that walruses inadvertently take into their mouths and not from crushing clam shells.Researchers have found numerous pebbles and small stones in the stomachs of walruses. They tend to eat more as winter approaches. They are easy to identify as their bodies are stained with grease from the blubber of the seals they consume.Consuming large amounts of food is important to the survival of the walrus. The process of clearing the murky waters with the flippers to be able to find food helps the entire ecosystem where the walrus lives. However, those taste buds also are larger than what is found on other pinnipeds. The diet of the Pacific walrus consist almost exclusively of benthic invertebrates (97 percent). Their only natural predators are the polar bear and orca.When in cold water, walrus have the ability to contract their outer blood vessels, which reduces blood flow to the skin and blubber. The walrus’ favorite food is shellfish.

During pregnancy, the female walruses tend to eat 30 to 40 percent more food than usual.Fay, F. H. “Ecology and Biology of the Pacific Walrus, Odobenus rosmarus divergens Illiger.” United States Fish and Wildlife Service, North American Fauna 74 (1982): 1–279.“Walrus”. In bivalve mollusks, the clams are probably the favorite diet of these mammals, consuming about 3,000 to 6,000 clams during one feeding. They can consume thousands of clams in a single feeding session. They dive underwater and use their whiskers to detect shellfish in the dark waters of the ocean. They gather by the hundreds to sunbathe on ice floes and beaches.A herd is usually segregated by gender with males and females gathering in their own herds. The prey items of walruses include sea cucumbers, snails, tube worms, shrimp, tunicates, octopuses, soft shell crabs, soft corals and mollusks like cockles, clams and mussels. They live in shallow regions of the water where they can easily gain access to bottom dwelling organisms in the water. | Snow Leopard Diet,What Do Malayan Tigers Eat? They eat less on their northward migration in the spring. This includes their location and the time of year. All in all, they have a diverse diet and may include about 60 different genera of aquatic creatures. All Rights Reserved.Where Do Walruses Fit in the Animal Food Chain?https://www.bioexplorer.net/what-do-walruses-eat.html/,6 Reasons That Emphasizes The Importance Of Biology,Best Colleges For Environmental Engineering,World’s 25 Most Pretty Purple Flowers (),Top 10 Best Colleges For Biomedical Engineering,The 25 Most Notable Biology Discoveries of All Times,65 Different Types of Doctors & What They Do (️‍️⚕️),Mollusks, clams, sea crustaceans, sea cucumbers, worms, gastropods, and cephalopods, fish, sea.The most notable feature of walruses is their pair of tusks.In the real sense, these are their canine teeth, which can grow to about.These tusks play an instrumental role during navigation, and they also offer protective armor when faced with predators.Compared to female walruses, males are larger. Its tusks are the upper canines and can grow to about 1 m in length, being longer in males (Figure 2.13).Males use their tusks in fighting other males for dominance over breeding. They rarely will dive more than 262 feet to find food. Normally, they feed at a depth of around 33 to 164 feet.All in all, they have a diverse diet and may include about 60 different genera of aquatic creatures. According to the Smithsonian Institution’s Arctic Study Center, a walrus can eat up to 4,000 clams in one feeding. It is believed to be the result of sand particles that enter the mouth as they are feeding. OCEANA – Protecting the World’s Oceans,Baker, H. 2013. So are we! When food is hard to come by, walrus will eat the carcasses of dead seals.Female’s gestation period is 15 to 16 months. During breeding season, the males will reduce their feeding by up to half. Walrus do not go further than 30 km off the coast. There are some rare but habitual seal-eating walruses. – Walrus Diet and Eating Habits,Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window),Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window).Can Mice Climb Stairs and Walls? Thus, unlike other pinnipeds, they live in shallow regions.