Ryan: Walrus are certainly equipped with some of the most impressive dentition in the animal kingdom. But the purpose of these fearsome canines is as many things, open to debate. One putative reason is the tusks are a lever to assist hefting their 800kg plus bodies on to the ice. The other is much less benign. These tusks are a way to establish status in walrus colonies. The larger the tusks the higher the position. (It appears that walruses haven’t yet evolved the ability to customise panel vans.) Due to their importance in intracolony relations that tusks have a secondary purpose as a weapon in duels amongst males.
Those Lewis Carrol fans will be pleased to know walruses are indeed fond of clams. However, they don’t appear to use their tusks when searching for food. Instead they drag their ultra-sensitive vibrassae (whiskers) through the sea bed to locate bivalves and many other benthic creatures, which they simply suck up in one gulp. Some walruses have been observed hunting seals but they are apparently an exception and, again, there is a lot of speculation over this behaviour.
To enable them to survive in their aquatic environment walrus have many adaptations common to other ocean dwelling mammals. They slow their heartbeat while diving and divert blood from tissues tolerant of low oxygen levels to where it is most needed, ie. the hear and brain. Plus the muscle tissue of walruses has a high content of myoglobin, which transports and stores oxygen in muscle tissue. However, I am unable to determine if walruses truly have a fondness for dressing in top hats and tails as is often depicted in story books.
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