TAGGED TUSK.The Atlantic walrus is one mammoth marine mammal A marine mammal is a mammal that is primarily ocean-dwelling or depends on the ocean for its food. Mammals originally evolved on land, but later marine mammals evolved to live back in the ocean. (animal that nurses its young with milk): An average adult male weighs a hefty 3,500 pounds! The walrus's torpedo-shaped body, streamlined for swimming, stretches up to 3.7 meters (12 feet) in length, and is encased en·case tr.v. en·cased, en·cas·ing, en·cas·es To enclose in or as if in a case. en·case  ment n. in a leathery leath·er·y adj. Having the texture or appearance of leather: a leathery face. leath er·i·ness n. 3-inch sheath sheath (sheth) a tubular case or envelope.arachnoid sheath the continuation of the arachnoidea mater around the optic nerve, forming part of its internal sheath. of blubber. The fatty coat insulates the mammal against subzero temperatures off the North Atlantic coasts where most Atlantic walruses roam. Its trademark tusks--12-pound daggers--help haul its body onto slippery ice beds. Researchers immobilized this male with a tranquilizing dart, then tagged its tusk with a radio transmitter that tracks the animal's migration patterns. Why? The data will help scientists devise strategies to preserve shrinking walrus populations, which have plunged from several hundred thousand to less than 50,000--mostly due to commercial hunting. |
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