AnimalsThe walrus is a very large relative of the seals, with long tusks and a bristly moustache. It uses its whiskers to find clams on the sea floor, and its tusks to haul itself onto the ice.
Quick facts
- Scientific name
- Odobenus rosmarus
- Group
- Mammals
- Diet
- Carnivore (eats other animals)
- Lives in
- The Arctic
- Habitat
- Sea ice and cold coasts
- A young one is called
- calf
- A group is called
- herd
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable
How it is classified
Scientists sort living things into groups within groups. Reading down, each step is a smaller group, ending with the species itself.
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Chordata
- Class Mammalia
- Order Carnivora
- Family Odobenidae
- Genus Odobenus
- Species Odobenus rosmarus
More distant relatives in the order Carnivora: brown bear, cheetah, dog, domestic cat, giant panda, jaguar, leopard, lion, polar bear, red fox, red panda, sloth bear.
Classification follows the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Other reference works arrange some groups differently. How classification works.
Is it in danger?
The walrus is listed as Vulnerable. The species faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
This is the IUCN Red List category as recorded in Wikidata on 11 November 2026. The IUCN Red List itself is the authority and may carry a newer assessment. What the categories mean.