Walrus

Known for their prominent tusks and distinctive whiskers, the walrus has often cropped up in contemporary culture: from its role as the majestic protagonist walking along the briny beach in Lewis Carroll's poem "The Walrus and the Carpenter," to the Beatles' enigmatic pronouncement "I am the Walrus." Walruses have long played a significant role in Arctic indigenous communities, where they have held a crucial place in traditional mythologies. Walrus explores the intriguing and affecting history of an animal that remains on the frontline of contemporary conservation debates.

John Miller is a lecturer in nineteenth-century literature at the University of Sheffield, UK, and the author of Empire and the Animal Body: Violence, Identity and Ecology in Victorian Adventure Fiction. Louise Miller is an independent scholar based in Kent, UK.

Known for their prominent tusks and distinctive whiskers, the walrus has often cropped up in contemporary culture: from its role as the majestic protagonist walking along the briny beach in Lewis Carroll's poem "The Walrus and the Carpenter," to the Beatles' enigmatic pronouncement "I am the Walrus." Walruses have long played a significant role in Arctic indigenous communities, where they have held a crucial place in traditional mythologies. European and American interest in the Arctic increased in the nineteenth century with the burgeoning trade of walrus ivory. Hunting brought the creatures near to the brink of extinction, with disastrous effects on indigenous human populations. Walrus explores the intriguing and affecting history of an animal that remains on the frontline of contemporary conservation debates. Commercial walrus hunting was banned in the 1930s, and today only subsistence hunting is permitted, yet the mammal still faces an uncertain future. Shrinking pack-ice caused by global warming is causing serious problems for walrus herds, while the exploitation of arctic oil and gas resources puts further pressure on the animals, whose remote habitats and nomadic behavior make it difficult to determine the exact number of animals that remain in the wild.

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