The slogan of protecting walrus

In other words, the life span of sea lions is about 30 years shorter than that of walruses: walruses are "musicians" with big tusks.

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Column from marine science classroom

Although walruses look ugly, their skills are not small, especially those with tusks, which are of great use!

Do you know that?/You know what? Do you know that?/You know what? Moreover, walrus is an outstanding "vocalist" and "excellent instrument player".

Let's learn about the characteristics of this ocean "vocalist" with big fangs ~

What is the special significance of walrus tusks?

Walrus belongs to the walrus family of Pinpoda and has no brothers or sisters. Walruses are much smaller than elephants, but they are the largest in the order Pinpoda.

Walruses mainly live in Arctic waters. Their bodies are heavy and long, and their skin is rough and wrinkled. Their limbs degenerate into fins and their noses are very short; Their ears have no concha and look ugly.

Ivory is a self-defense weapon for walruses. Walruses live in high latitudes, and killer whales and polar bears are their natural enemies. Once encountered, walruses will show their weapons-fangs.

Of course, walruses don't fight these powerful characters unless they have to. At this time, walrus tusks become ice picks, which can help them avoid natural enemies on the ice.

Walrus tusks symbolize power. Walruses belong to social animals. In the walrus family, the size of teeth determines the status of individuals, and it is also a weapon for the same kind to compete for territory and "wife".

However, the battle between walruses can be regarded as a point-to-end, and once the opponent clearly has the upper hand, the battle will end immediately.

From a practical point of view, walrus tusks are like plows. Because walruses are good at diving into the sea floor and digging out molluscs in sediments with their tusks.

Walruses generally dive to a depth of 500 meters, and the deepest point can reach 1500 meters. Walruses can stay underwater for 2 hours. If fresh air is needed, walruses can surface in 3 minutes.

Walruses have extraordinary diving skills mainly because they contain extremely rich blood. Walrus blood accounts for about 20% of the whole body weight, while human blood accounts for only 7% of the body weight.

Walruses have a lot of blood and store a lot of oxygen, so it is not surprising that they dive in the ocean for a long time. Walruses, like bats, locate themselves by sound when diving into the water.

Walruses eat rays, sharks, shrimps, sea worms, squid, crabs, even seals and narwhals, but most of them are oysters.

Oyster is a mollusk with a hard shell, but it is difficult for walrus. Adult walruses can eat 7,000 oysters a day, and they can suck oyster meat out of their shells in the blink of an eye.

Sea ivory also has economic and medicinal value, and grinding sea ivory into powder is a very precious medicinal material. But it is precisely because of its preciousness that it has brought disaster to walruses.

In recent years, the number of walruses has increased obviously due to various protective measures taken by countries all over the world. However, with the shrinking of the sea ice area in the Arctic Ocean, walruses have encountered a new survival crisis!

Walrus is a "musician"

The "ugly" walrus can make all kinds of sounds, such as barking, knocking, cracking and ringing. Especially in walrus breeding season, male walruses will hold "solo concerts" to attract female walruses and demonstrate to other male walruses.

However, we still don't know which sound can best seduce walruses' "beauty". Maybe radish and cabbage have their own tastes.

Walrus is not only an excellent "vocalist", but also an excellent "instrument player".

Some researchers observed that a captured walrus was playing with a rubber toy in the pool, and the toy made a sound like a horn by squeezing the pool. By observing this behavior, other walruses also learned how to make the same sound.