Odobenidae:

Walrus

The Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) has been separated into two subspecies; the Atlantic Walrus (O. rosmarus rosmarus) and the Pacific Walrus (O. rosmarus divergens). The Atlantic Walrus can be found on the coastal regions of Northeastern Canada and Greenland whereas the Pacific Walrus is found in the Bering, Laptev and the Chukchi Sea. Walruses are normally found in fairly shallow waters of not more than 80m deep. As walruses prefer snow covered moving pack ice or ice floes to rest on and give birth to their offspring, it has been shown that their migration patterns follow the pack ice, although the migration patterns of the Atlantic Walrus does not seem to be as clear as that of the Pacific Walrus which resides in the Bering Sea during the winter and the Chukchi Sea during the summer. They live in regions where the air temperature ranges from -15°C to +5°C and spend about two thirds of their life in water; they therefore have a very thick layer of blubber. They can dive up to 380m but they rarely do as they prefer to feed in shallower water of around 80m and can remain submerged for as long as half an hour. The ability to dive to 380m deep can sometimes be useful to avoid predators such as polar bears.

They are clearly distinguishable with their ivory tusks which can be up to 3.3 feet long in males and 2 feet in females. These tusks are the upper canines of the Walrus and can be used for fighting amongst males. Walruses squirt water from their mouth and use their tusks to stir up the sea bed to uncover food as well as using their vibrissae to identify prey. They commonly feed on prey that can be found by the sea floor such as clams and mussels. There are also a few seal eating Walruses which prey on Bearded and Ringed seals.

It's playing a Saxophone. How absurd. photgraph from: http://www.livbit.com/article/2008/12/04/walrus-plays-saxophone-in-turkey

Walruses give birth on pack ice during April and May. Although male Walruses become sexually mature at the age of seven years old, they do not mate until they are fully developed at around 15 years old. Females start breeding at a younger age of around five years old. When Walrus pups are born they are fairly large weighing around 45 kilograms and around 1.2m long. Unlike the other Pinniped families, lactation continues for over a year and mothers remain with their pups for another few years, sometimes as many as five years. Some suggest that this is because young Walruses have short tusks and are not able to acquire enough food on their own. Mating begins shortly after the females have given birth and the gestation period lasts up to 16 months, including a 3.5 month period of delayed implantation. Adult females give birth around once every other year; this may be even less frequent in older females.