SeaWorld Orlando employees share their wisdom

Guests looking to dive deeper into their knowledge of SeaWorld Orlando’s walruses can take advantage of the theme park’s Walrus Up-Close Tour.

On recent behind-thescenes experiences, Lauren Fletcher and Kelly Trotto, senior keepers at SeaWorld, as well as Spencer Aldridge and Angela Casagrande, instructors in SeaWorld’s animal programs department, shared some interesting facts about these pinnipeds.

There are four walruses in the Wild Arctic building. Garfield, a male that weighs about 3,000 pounds, and Kaboodle, a female that weighs about 1,600 pounds, are a mated pair that gave birth to Ginger, a female that weighs about 505 pounds. AKU is a male that weighs about 556 pounds.

Ginger and AKU were both born in June 2017. Ginger was the first walrus calf born at SeaWorld Orlando. AKU was found alone in Alaska and eventually ended up at SeaWorld Orlando in October 2017.

Newly born walrus calves generally weigh about 100 pounds, and babies gain 1-3 pounds daily. Adult males can weigh up to 4,000 pounds.

There are 1.3 million gallons of water in the Wild Arctic building. The filtration system there can turn over that water in 45 minutes.

Walruses use their vibrissae to find out more information about their environment.

Walrus tusks grow throughout their life — if one chips or breaks, the other stops growing until the broken one catches up. In addition to tusks, walruses have 14 very sharp teeth in their mouth.

The tusks are connected to the skull, so an infection in the tusk can cause brain damage. Slowpoke, a female walrus that resides in the Sea Lion and Otter Stadium, had her tusks removed.

SeaWorld Orlando’s kitchens go beyond United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) ratings to meet Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) ratings, which means the facilities have higher quality air, food and training for animals. One restriction the park abides by: Thawed fish must be used within 24 hours or discarded.

About 420 pounds of seafood are used every day at the Wild Arctic building.