Emeritus professor Jacques Hausser sends more pictures from his trip to Svalbard (the archipelago formerly known as Spitzbergen). We have walrii, or whatever their plural is:
The walruses, Odobenus rosmarus, are neither seals nor sea-lions, but a somewhat intermediate family, actually more closely related to the sea-lions. They can also can walk on four limbs (with difficulty for large bulls), but they have lost their external ear like the seals: an example of convergence. A large bull of the Atlantic subspecies can reach 3.5 m and 1500 kg.
Walruses were hunted in Svalbard until 1953 for ivory and oil, and their population was almost eradicated. They slowly recovered and the present population amounts roughly 3, 000, about the same number as the polar bears. Except during the breeding season (january – February) males and females live apart.
Siesta; this is only a little part of a… heap of perhaps 50 males, sleeping among driftwood (which comes from timber rafting in large Siberia rivers, I was told).
According to the length of its tusks, this is the Grandpa of the colony. He was very large, but looked… deflated. Very old?
An impressive one. Some friends of mine argue that’s a selfie. But not – I would never stay in such cold water.
Females and young:
Remains of the past in a former whaling station.
And, as lagniappe, two pictures of an underappreciated species of urban wildlife from reader Glenn Butler:
Here’s a Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana). Unfortunately, we had to remove a dead tree it was living in. At least the weather is favorable for a new apartment search. I think it’s important for people to leave dead trees whenever practical for wildlife habitat. If a dead tree isn’t hazardous, just leave it.
Isn’t it cute? Almost catlike. . .
Such peaceful looking male walrii, but I think you can see hints of battle scars.
Opossums do look cute, but if you get closer to a ‘possum it will do the ‘gape’ display where it opens its mouth real wide. Suddenly they do not look that cute!
Possums are darling, I love raccons too.
Both of them show their appreciation for my cuisine by coming in through the cat doors to nom the cat food. Then they usually stay in the kitchen for a while for a nice little nap. They dislike me disturbing them, and the raccoons won’t let me into the kitchen while they’re there.
Who cares? I’m honored by their visits.
According to Meriam-Webster:
plural walrus or wal·rus·es
It’s not a latin word, but comes from Dutch, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Dan & Norwegian hvalros walrus, Old Norse rosmhvalr
And even if it were Latin, why would that I be inserted?
LLOL! That first pic looks like a bunch of old fogies sleeping off a good lunch at their club! You can almost hear the snoring. And possums are cat-like, right down to the hiss.
Walruses is the plural. Walrus isn’t Latin.
I do like them. So cute and the cute possum too! My dad saved one from being kicked to death by some jerk young person who thought it was ugly. He stayed there guarding it and called the authorities. It was a pregnant female and she survived. Tough things they are!
Loved the walruses and the possums are really cute, too, though more mouselike, imo. Speaking of mice, has anyone seen the simply delightful movie Mouse Hunt with Nathan Lane( late 90s)? Some friend recommended it and our library had it🐭 Couldn’t stop laughing.
Yes, and it was very good! Two paws up!
two paws and a tail;-)
Possums: One of our dogs has a habit of bringing in possums, raccoons, and turtles. He puts them in my bed. (I’m honored!) In the last possum event I was IN the bed when he brought it in… and dropped it on ME.
Whoa! What happened next??
What happened next is that it was the fastest I got out of bed since the college girlfriend’s roommate came home earlier than expected.
What happened after THAT was that I grabbed the critter gloves (heavy leather, and it goes up to the elbow), grabbed Mr Possum by the tail, carried him outside, and gently tossed him over the fence.
Yeah, I want to know too! I hope the turtles weren’t snappers!
Not snappers. Terrapene ornata. One in particular was a bit nibbled all around the base of the shell.
Out of curiosity, how far does he roam to find turtles? Box turtles have a low survival rate if released outside of their own personal territory.
He roams the fenced back yard. (He could jump the fence (he’s a saluki) but he doesn’t know it. Please don’t tell him!)
I released the turtles at the woods/grassland interface behind the barn.
FYI, we’re ~50 miles NW of St. Louis.
We had a bunch of possums them make nest in our backyard, in a stashed bag of styrofoam bricks. I love the way they freeze in their tracks when espied and sort of do the moonwalk when starting up again. They too have acquired the taste the feral cats’ kibble.
*’that made their nest’ (yikes-broken brain)
In New Zealand, possums aren’t cute, they’re an introduced pest that needs to be destroyed. They spread tuberculosis to farm animals, they eat the eggs of native birds (which has sent dozens to the brink of extinction), and their bite poisons our native plants.
They also eat my roses.
Possum killer is a job here. Getting rid of them is one of the main aims of our Ministry of Conservation.
And have you ever had them on the roof? They’re incredibly heavy-footed. You’d swear it was a man.
But it is a cute picture. 🙂
I love the walruses though.
I understand the New Zealand perspective, of course, but as an Australian I don’t share it.
One thing that always surprises me when I see these close-up pictures of opossums – and I know it shouldn’t – is how different they look from possums (which have a similar name but aren’t so closely related). I find possums much cuter; somehow the American opossums look almost mean and rat-like by comparison.
Possums can be annoying here, too, when they walk through my roof at night, but they disarm me when I see them. I’ve even found them cute when one nibbled on my finger, which at the time would have tasted like fruit.
Yeah but those are cute Australian possums. These are opossums.
See:
Cute Australian Possum
http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200709/r186121_693404.jpg
North American Opossum
http://emergencywildliferemoval.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/opossum-300..jpg
still cute except for the teeth
Fun photos. Love the walrus lying on its back with a flipper over his chest. That’s exactly how I like to nap!
Lovely possum too.
In the UV spectrum, American Opossums but not Australian possums glow! A colleague of mine studies these guys and thinks it possibly indicates sexual maturity.