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Walrus / Rostunger / Morse
Habitat: The shallow waters of sub-arctic Northern seas.
Favorite Food: Sea cucumbers
Last visit to the Western Prom: 10 -30 thousand years ago, during the close of the last ice age, when the edge of the Laurentide Ice Sheet advanced and receded over the present-day coastline of New England. Prehistoric Walrus bones have been snared by fishermen as far south as Cape Cod.
Favorite Constellations: Capricornus, the Sea Goat; Qayttas, the Whale; Cetus, the Whale; Cetus, the Sea Monster; Ad-Dulfin, the Dolphin; Delfinius, the Dolphin.
“ROSTUNGER (also called Rosmar) is somewhat like a sea calf. It goes to the bottom of the sea on all four of its feet, which are very short. Its skin can hardly be penetrated by any weapon. It sleeps for twelve hours on end, hanging on some rock or cliff by its two long teeth. Each of its teeth are at least one ell long and the length of its whole body is fourteen ells (50 feet).
Using their tusks, these animals clamber right up to the cliff-tops, as if they were going up a ladder, in order to crop the sweet, dew-moistened grass, and then roll back down into the sea again, unless, in the meantime, they have been overcome with a heavy drowsiness and fall asleep as they cling to the rocks.”
Before cameras or Wikipedia, walruses were widely misunderstood. They were represented and misrepresented in surprising ways. Here are some pictures of walruses.
