Odobenus rosmarus
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The walrus (Odobenus rosmarus; plural walrus or walruses) is a large pinniped marine mammal with discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the only extant species in the family Odobenidae and genus Odobenus.
Adult walrus are characterised by prominent tusks and whiskers, and considerable bulk; adult males in the Pacific can weigh more than 2,000 kilograms (4,400 pounds) and, among pinnipeds, are exceeded in size only by the two species of elephant seals. Walrus live mostly in shallow waters above the continental shelves, spending significant amounts of their lives on the sea ice looking for benthic bivalve molluscs. Walruses are relatively long-lived, social and intelligent animals, and are considered a keystone species of the Arctic marine region.
The walrus has played a prominent role in the cultures of many indigenous Arctic peoples, who have hunted it for meat, fat, skin, tusks, and bone. During the 19th century and the early 20th century, walrus were widely hunted for their blubber, walrus ivory, leather, and meat; in this period, the walrus population dropped rapidly all around the Arctic region. It has rebounded somewhat since, though the populations of Atlantic and Laptev walruses remain fragmented and at low levels compared with the time before human interference. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Svalbard | 🇳🇴 Norway |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Very likely
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a Walrus sighting in Svalbard on a given day, based on 626 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 14 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and May–September
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Walrus in Svalbard on a given day, against about 30% in January–February and October–November, the lowest months. December has too few records to rate.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Walrus sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Svalbard, in our data
Svalbard is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Walrus sightings: about 80% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Carnivora
The closest relatives of the Walrus that you can see in Svalbard (order Carnivora, Carnivorans) are Arctic Fox (about 80%), Polar Bear (about 80%) and Harbor Seal (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Walrus is recorded against all the mammals logged in Svalbard (626 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
