Nature’s Best Photography
Ocean Views
Experience the Ocean Through the Art of Photography
June 11, 2008 through November 2008
Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus)
Cape Lee, Edge Island, Southeast Svalbard Nature Preserve
Svalbard, Norway
by Ralph Lee Hopkins, Sante Fe, New Mexico, USA
Walruses are large mammals that live in Arctic waters-an adult male can reach
more than 4,000 pounds. Their distinctive long tusks are actually canine teeth that can
grow more than three feet long and weigh as much as 12 pounds. Because walruses are
considered a keystone species in the Arctic marine ecosystem, the effects of global
climate change on their population is being closely monitored.
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