Walruses Of The Round Island

Image of a mother and a baby Walrus in the shallow waters of the Bering sea.

The round Island is also known as  Qayassiq by the indigenous Yapik people of the Alaska in the North coast of United States. It's located off the coast of Alaska, in the Bering sea. The round island is considered to be the  home of the Pacific Walruses since it's part of the Walruses Island State Game Sanctuary. Walruses are large marine mammals in this region, as it is also known as the walruses island. 

Walruses weigh up to 2000 kilograms and measures up to 3.5 metres in length. They have tusks which are believed to be a more elongated canine teeth. Tusks of the male walruses are elongated and more prominent compared to that of the females.A normal estimate length of the tusk is 1 meter long although there are some exceptional records of individuals with tusks exceeding the normal size. Their tusks enable them fight , defend themselves, rage food and haul themselves out of water and onto ice or land. Male walruses use their tusks to establish dominance and compete for mates during mating seasons. External layer of the tusk is made of ivory, which protects them from wearing out.

Walruses are incredibly sensitive to disturbance as they shy away from boat traffics, loud voices, and vibrations from overhead aircrafts, making them to submerge themselves into the waters.

Image of Walruses on rocks during sunrise.

They mostly like being in close contact with each other (socialable), are also prone to loudly bellowing and snorting at one another but more aggressive during mating sessions.  Orphan baby Walruses in their captivities always strive for physical contact with one another for their survival.

In the round island, they are often seen resting on the rocks or sand, and ussually they team up together in large numbers. They spend mostly in shallow waters but can dive in excess of 90 meters deep, in search for food,and stay underwater for up to 30 minutes. When they are outside water, they do feed on the benthic invertebrates.

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The population of the walruses in the round island is estimated to be around 12,000 individuals, hence making them one of the largest sea creatures in the Alaska region. During summers, the female Walruses comes offsea to give birth and nurse their young ones as males stays in the nearby waters.

In the Arctic ecosystem, Walruses are considered to be of very important since they influence the structure of the benthic invertebrate communities. In less than a 10 minutes dive, they feed on an average of 50 clams and also consume 40 to 50 kilometres of food per day. They swim at an average of 7km/h up to 35km/h and supprisingly move fast on land two, matching the running speed of a normal human being as they run on all fours.