Month: January 2011

Bluey The Walrus

This is “Bluey The Walrus” who is a boss-level character in the video game “Diddy Kong Racing”. H’es found in the”Snowflake Mountain” area of the game. Apparently he’s pretty hard to beat, at least is the Nintendo DS version of the game.

Here’s the wiki entry about Bluey over at Super Mario Wiki.

I’ve done a fair amount of research towards cartoon walrus characters, and have been noticing the frequent use of the walrus as a video game character – I sense a new category of posts. In fact, I’ve just added a category for video games to the blog’s category list. We’ll see what else I can find. As for Bluey, I’ll put my son, a voracious player of all DS games, on the case and we’ll see if we can get some hands-on Bluey racing experience.

WOW, a walrus . . . get it?


I don’t play World of Warcraft (OK, I played Guild Wars for several years) – but if I did, I’d be this guy.

Worldwide Walrus Population

I noticed in my site logs that someone came to the site today off of the Google Query “How many Pacific Walruses are there in the world?” A good question – so I Googled it myself, and I’ll add the info to the site now, thanks to the excellent “Walrus Info Book” on Seaworld.org (Link to HTML, Link to PDF).

  1. Total world walrus population is about 250,000 animals.
  2. The Pacific walrus population is currently unknown but was last estimated at more than 200,000 animals in 1990.
    • The Pacific walrus population has been hunted to depletion and allowed to recover several times.
    • After the latest population depletion, which began in the 1930s, Pacific walruses were given protection by Russia, the State of Alaska, and the U.S. federal government. This protection led to the eventual recovery of the Pacific walrus population. Walruses reoccupied areas where they had not been seen for several years.
    • By the early 1980s, walruses appeared leaner. They increased their consumption of alternate foods such as fishes. Natural mortality increased, and birth rates decreased. This evidence supports the theory that the Pacific walrus population may have approached the carrying capacity of its environment.
    • As the Pacific walrus population grew, annual subsistence catches by indigenous Arctic peoples ranged from about 3,000 to 16,000 walruses per year until about 1990, and then decreased to an average of 5,789 animals per year from 1996 to 2000. Some scientists predict that, without long-term management, natural and human-related mortality factors could rapidly reduce the population once more.
    • Currently the US Geological Survey (USGS) and the Russian Knipovich Polar Research Institute are jointly undertaking a walrus population study. Using infrared imaging they locate walrus groups hauled out on sea ice. High resolution digital photography allows researchers to estimate group numbers. They also use satellite telemetry to estimate the percentage of the population visible during counts

So now we’ve got the info as well! Although I notice that this info refers to 1990 counts, and one must assume that there have been wide variations in population since then. Very likely an overall reduction I’m afraid. EDIT 4/7/2011: Looks like the revised numbers have the current Pacific Walrus numbers at only 180,000 animals. When I find the official update report, I will repost the correct and latest numbers.

The Rare and Deadly Vampire Walrus!

Bob Canada's Vampire Walrus

Cartoonist Bob Canada turns us on the Vampire Walrus, horrific scourge of the arctic. His posting is as amusing as this drawing. Beware the vampire walrus!

The Vampire Walrus’ wings are mostly for show, as they are far too small to lift its impressive bulk off the ground.

Here’s the link to the full post on Bob’s Blogger site:
http://bobcanada92.blogspot.com/2009/10/rare-and-deadly-vampire-walrus.html

Bob’s a designer and cartoonist from Indiana. Not Canada. I like his drawing style. I like the fact that he posts sketches along with the final art – I always like the energy contained in an artists sketches, sometimes more than the final.

Adults Only! Walrus babies the goal of new scientific research

Photo: Karen T Borchers, San Jose Mercury News

The folks at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, CA are trying to breed walruses. This is a challenge. Why? Well, according to marine mammal reproductive physiologist Holley Muraco….

The love lives of Pacific Walruses have long been shrouded in secrecy. They mate underwater, at remote, vast and icy habitats, during the Arctic Circle’s longest and darkest nights.

And there is growing concern for their survival because sea ice is melting. Zoos don’t want to collect from these perilous wild populations, and seek instead to increase the genetic diversity of their captive populations.

In the eight decades that walruses have been kept captive, only 11 babies have been born; of those, merely six survived. Fewer than 20 now exist in American zoos, and many are aging, Muraco said.

An then it gets… interesting… So if you’re in the mood to break up your day reading about the R&D process behind manufacturing a walrus sex-toy that allows for some REALLY impressive girth… Like I said – this one’s not for the kids!

Here’s the link to the full article on the Mercury News Site which includes a nice photo gallery:
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_16991027

Walrus Mutant Pirate!

OK, that’s a phrase I didn’t think I’d be using as a headline… Here’s an interesting walrus figure, from French toy Company Papo, the Mutant Walrus Pirate. This is pretty much guaranteed to give small kids nightmares! But would be great fun to play with, when you just HAVE to have the ultimate action figure menace.

Papo toys are usually available at specialty toy stores, and now our local Fred Meyer has them – they’re probably also at Toys R Us and maybe Target? The offer a full line of knights, fantasy figures and pirates as well as LOTS of different animals, but oddly – not a walrus! I have a Papo-style walrus figure sitting on top of my bookshelf stereo on my dresser – I thought it was Papo until I hit their website and can find no walrus in their product line. Now I wonder who makes it?

Here’s the full collection of Papo figurines from their website:
http://www.papo-france.com/Collection.asp

Little Walrus Warning

This delightful little book is from the Smithsonian’s “Oceanic Collection”. There are books for all kinds of species like green sea turtles, etc. My girlfriend’s very young niece apparently saw this book at the Smithsonian gift shop, or some bookstore (they live in Northern VA) and though of me, since she knew I lied walruses. This book showed up out of the blue. It’s a small little book directed at kids, but it was perfect for my son’s first book report. It tells the story of Little Walrus, and how he makes his last trip with his mother before taking his own place in the herd. It’s a fun little book for a young child who is just learning to appreciate the walrus!

Here’s the link to the book on Amazon – throw it in with your next purchase: http://amzn.com/1568992726