Wow – this wild species actually uses its front teeth to walk?!

Who could it be? Let’s learn!

The walrus is a very interesting animal. He is full of blubber to keep warm in the extreme cold of the Arctic, but when he wants to sunbathe, or more urgently, escape his ocean predator the killer whale, the walrus lacks arms and legs to pull his massive body out of the frigid waters and onto polar grounds.

So how does the walrus get his huge body onto ice floes and solid land?

The walrus uses his large tusks to pull himself out of the water and up on to the ice or ground—amazing! Civilizations as long ago as the ancient Greeks have commonly dubbed the walrus “tooth walker” for this stunning physical feat of hauling several hundred pounds of body out of water using teeth! The walrus’s tusks are actually front canines made of ivory that can grow several feet in length if the carnivorous animal should live for many years.

For a long time biologists believed the walrus used his tusks to forage for food on the ocean floor, however, evidence to the contrary has since surfaced. Scientists now know that the walrus tends to shift the muck of the sea bed by other means, such as spitting water at it, in search of crustacean and other small aquatic animals to eat. Still, the walrus has been documented to occasionally use his tusks to attack and kill large prey animals.

Although the walrus is intimidating for being so “long in the tooth,” the animal is actually quite a social creature and tends to gather in very large, very vocal herds. When interacting with other walruses, this ocean animal will use also his tusks for self-protection and mating rituals.