Walrus Facts for Kids
Odobenus rosmarus · oh-DOH-ben-us ROZ-mar-us
A walrus uses its tusks like ice picks to climb onto the ice.
- 🏃 22 mph35 km/h1
- ⚖️ 1.9 tons1.7 tonnes2
- 📏 9.8 to 11 ft3 to 3.5 m3 long
- 🎂 lifespan: not yet checked
- 🍽️ meat
- Needs help (Vulnerable)
Walruses have two long tusks and bristly whiskers. They have thick fat to stay warm. They rest in big groups on the ice.
A walrus has very sensitive whiskers, and it uses them to feel for clams and other food on the dark sea floor. Its tusks are long teeth, and walruses use them to haul their heavy bodies out of the water. A thick layer of fat, called blubber, keeps it warm.
Walruses spend part of their time in the water and part resting on ice or beaches in crowded herds, where they lie packed close together. Pockets of air in their throats work like life jackets, letting them float and even sleep in the water. Walruses depend on sea ice as a resting place near good feeding grounds. As the ice melts earlier each year, they crowd onto beaches instead, so scientists and people who live in the Arctic work together to watch over them.
How big is a walrus?
Walrus in numbers
| Length | 9.8 to 11 ft3 to 3.5 m3 |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | no checked number yet |
| Weight | 1.9 tons1.7 tonnes2 |
| Top speed (swimming) | 22 mph35 km/h1swimming |
| How long it lives | no checked number yet |
| What it eats | clams, snails, worms and other animals of the sea floor |
| Where it lives | Arctic seas and shores around Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Russia |
| What kind | Mammals |
| Is it in danger? | Needs help (Vulnerable)4 |
A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.
Wow!
- Both male and female walruses grow tusks.
- A walrus can sleep while floating, with air pockets like a life jacket.
- Its science name means tooth-walker, because it hauls itself along with its tusks.
Compare the walrus
Friends and neighbours
Narwhal
Polar bear
California sea lionThree questions
Books about the walrus, free at the library
Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the walrus for free.
Where these numbers come from
- National Park Service, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, checked 30 October 2026.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, checked 30 October 2026.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Walrus Species Status Assessment (PDF), checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, Walrus (Q40994), checked 30 October 2026.