# Can a pet walrus be kept? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 10, 2009, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-pet-walrus-be-kept/502526 "2009-07-10T03:05:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-pet-walrus-be-kept/502526/41 "2009-07-14T18:30:13Z")
> [@Phlosphr](#): > > Walrus eat mollusks and things in the muck of the bottom. Unless you are planning on feeding it 200 pounds of herring or mackrel a day I doubt iot would survive in a 75 degree alpine lake. Obligatory Python Reference: “Where are we going to get 44 tons of plankton every day?” [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iIBA_3aK0Hg/hqdefault.jpg "Monty Python - At Home With the Ant and Other Pets") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIBA_3aK0Hg) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-pet-walrus-be-kept/502526/42 "2009-07-14T18:38:42Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > WHY do you want a walrus? This is killing me. Penis envy. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-pet-walrus-be-kept/502526/43 "2009-07-14T18:47:53Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Penis envy. Baculum envy. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-pet-walrus-be-kept/502526/44 "2009-07-14T19:25:02Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Penis envy. Walruses have penises? Wow, I never thought I’d be asking that question, ever. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-pet-walrus-be-kept/502526/45 "2009-07-14T21:01:45Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Walruses have penises? Wow, I never thought I’d be asking that question, ever. And it’s also why they have Tupperware parties. They’re looking for a tight seal. :eek: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mapache](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58956e/32.png) [@Mapache](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mapache)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-pet-walrus-be-kept/502526/46 "2009-07-15T00:05:56Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Walruses have penises? Wow, I never thought I’d be asking that question, ever. Not only do they have a penis, they have a bone in it that can be thirty inches long. ( [Baculum - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baculum)) (Five feet long in an extinct species. Take that, John Holmes!!) Edited to add: jayjay beat me to it, sort of, but probably few of us know what a baculum is. I didn´t until I looked it up in WIKI. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-pet-walrus-be-kept/502526/47 "2009-07-15T01:54:00Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > WHY do you want a walrus? This is killing me. Why NOT? It would be a great and unique pet. I think walruses are cute, anyway. If you tried to pet a bull walrus, would it tusk you? Or could it be tamed? ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-pet-walrus-be-kept/502526/48 "2009-07-15T04:40:40Z")
> [@Mapache](#): > > Not only do they have a penis, they have a bone in it that can be thirty inches long. ( [Baculum - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baculum)) (Five feet long in an extinct species. Take that, John Holmes!!) > > Edited to add: jayjay beat me to it, sort of, but probably few of us know what a baculum is. I didn´t until I looked it up in WIKI. I just read that article and noticed that bonobos engage in competitive penis fights. I guess you learn something (hilarious) every day. Also, ‘Competitive Penis Fight’ BAND NAME! ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-pet-walrus-be-kept/502526/49 "2009-07-15T13:37:52Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Why NOT? It would be a great and unique pet. I think walruses are cute, anyway. If you tried to pet a bull walrus, would it tusk you? Or could it be tamed? Well, I want a penguin or five, so please keep your killer walrus away from my penguin. Do walruses eat penguins? Anyway. The whole walrus penis thing reminds me of an old joke: A penguin was driving along in his car when it broke down. He brought it to a mechanic, who said it would take a few hours for him to look at it. So the penguin walked around town, did some shopping, and bought some ice cream to eat. At the requisite time, he headed back to his car. The mechanic stood up and said, “Hey, it looks like you blew a seal.” And the penguin, waving his flippers frantically, said, “Nononono! It was ice cream!” ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-pet-walrus-be-kept/502526/50 "2009-07-15T14:37:37Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Well, I want a penguin or five, so please keep your killer walrus away from my penguin. > Do walruses eat penguins? I don’t think they live anywhere near each other. AFAIK, walruses are Arctic or near-Arctic animals, and penguins are all in the Southern Hemisphere. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-pet-walrus-be-kept/502526/51 "2009-07-15T14:42:34Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Well, I want a penguin or five, so please keep your killer walrus away from my penguin. > > Do walruses eat penguins? They generally only eat clams, but they’re opportunistic; if there are no clams about, they’ll eat other mollusks or even coral and stuff like that. Some have been found with tissue from whales, dolphins, seals and even other walruses in their stomachs, but it’s almost certain that this represents occasional scavenging. They’re certainly not fast enough to catch a penguin, and as jayjay notes, the walrus is native to the Arctic and penguins are not found north of the equator. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-pet-walrus-be-kept/502526/52 "2009-07-15T15:01:25Z")
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3NueKXS6dk](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3NueKXS6dk) If you can do this, how much trouble would a walrus be? ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-pet-walrus-be-kept/502526/53 "2009-07-15T16:25:09Z")
I was hoping the full question was going to be “Can a pet walrus be kept _in a block of flat’s and do they need much exercise?_” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-pet-walrus-be-kept/502526.md?page=2)