Walruses use seabirds as TOYS and play with carcasses they find on the water
At first, it sounds like a friendship right out of a children’s book – walruses and birds, playing out at sea.
But, the reality is far more macabre.
A new study has found that the 1.5 ton marine mammals’ ‘play behaviour’ includes sneaking up on floating seabirds to scare them away, attempting to slash them with tusks, and even using carcasses for ‘drop-catch’ games.
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At first, it sounds like a friendship right out of a children’s book – walruses and birds, playing out at sea. But, the reality is far more macabre
WALRUS 'GAMES' Walruses were found to play 'surface and splash' games with the birds, or approached them form below for a sneak attach. They also play with carcasses that washed in or were dropped by birds of play. In these circumstances, the walrus would grab a carcass from the surface and pull it under the water, letting it float back to the top. Then, they would swim up and do the same thing over again, up to eight times in a row. They were even observed playing with seabird carcasses in groups, where a walrus would hold the bird in its mouth, and the others would gather around it and lean in to jostle the catch from its grip. If it dropped the bird, another walrus would come grab the carcass and take a turn in the center.
Researchers observed 74 seabird encounters for 71 individually identified wild Pacific walruses in the Chukchi Sea.
For the most part, the walruses paid little attention to nearby seabirds.
But, a number of them intentionally approached the floating animals – with young walruses initiating 82 percent of these encounters.
Footage of the bizarre behaviour revealed the most common activities toward the birds were ‘approach by surface and splash, approach by surfacing and hit and attack from below,’ the authors wrote in the study, published to the journal acta ethologica.
While the ‘games’ were somewhat aggressive, only one resulted in the bird’s death, suggesting killing isn’t their ultimate intention, according to National Geographic.
They did, however, also tend to play with carcasses that either washed in or were dropped by birds of play.
‘The reasons why young walruses engage in such behaviour are probably the same reasons why all animals begin to play,’ co-author Andrey Giljov, a zoologist at St. Petersburg University, told National Geographic.
A new study has found that the 1.5 ton marine mammals’ ‘play behaviour’ includes sneaking up on floating seabirds to scare them away, attempting to slash them with tusks, and even using carcasses for ‘drop-catch’ games
‘Play may be important for the development of physical and social skills.
‘The most interesting type of play observed was an object play, when one or several walruses used seabird carcasses as ‘toys.’
In these circumstances, the walrus would grab a carcass from the surface and pull it under the water, letting it float back to the top.
Then, they would swim up and do the same thing over again, up to eight times in a row.
They were even observed playing with seabird carcasses in groups.
The researchers say this is the first time play-like behaviour of this kind has been observed in walruses, and suggests their encounters with seabirds are ‘not limited to predatory responses’
For this type of play, a walrus would hold the bird in its mouth, and the others would gather around it and lean in to jostle the catch from its grip.
If it dropped the bird, another walrus would come grab the carcass and take a turn in the center, according to National Geographic.
Some would even taunt the other walruses, placing a carcass near them and quickly snatching it away.
Only occasionally would the walruses eat the dead birds, as their diet primarily consists of shellfish.