Walruses have long tusks and a prominent moustache. These large marine mammals are found near the Arctic Circle. They are extremely social and snort and bellow loudly at their companions. During the mating season they are quite aggressive.
Walruses have wrinkled brown and pink skin, long coarse whiskers, flat flippers, and lots of blubber on their bodies to keep them warm in the cold Arctic water. They can slow down their heartbeat to withstand the chilly water temperatures and to help them stay under water for as long as ten minutes.
Their long tusks are useful in many ways. They use them to pull their enormous bodies out of frigid waters, and seem to walk on their tusks. They also use their tusks to break breathing holes into ice from below. Tusks are found on both males and females and keep growing throughout their lives. These tusks are actually canine teeth and can grow to be about one meter long. Their whiskers are very sensitive and help the walruses find their favorite meals, such as clams, way down in the deep, dark ocean floor. Their whiskers are longest at the corners of their mouth.
Only Native Americans are currently allowed to hunt walruses, as the species' survival was threatened by past overhunting. Hunters in the 18th and 19th centuries captured walruses for their tusks, oil, skin, and meat and now there aren’t any walruses in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and around Sable Island, off the coast of Nova Scotia.
Check the attributes and take a good look at the map so you can plan your visit.
Note: The letter values at the back of the logbooks in AQ6, AQ7, AQ8, AQ9, AQ10 give information on the whereabouts of the yet to be published cache: AQ11 Aquatic Creatures - Stingray (Tasman) GCA85GC