TTFG: Pelagiarctos

Pelagiarctos thomasi
“Bloodthirsty Walrus”

Size: 8-10 feet long, 1 ton with males, 930 pounds with females

Diet: Sirenians (sea cows and dugongs), pinnipeds (seals), hippo-like mammals, fish

Habitat: Rocky coasts on the shores of the United States, most commonly in California

Time Period: Middle Miocene, 15-13 million years ago

Appearance: At the size of a modern walrus and with thick bone-crushing jaws, Pelagiarctos seems to be a walrus sent straight from the gates of Hell. Over twenty razor sharp teeth await under its fleshy whiskered lips, ready to rip apart creatures that can weigh more than 800 pounds. Rusty red to dark brown in color, Pelagiarctos is otherwise similar in appearance to the modern walrus, with its long fanlike flippers and plump almost hairless body.

Behavior: Voracious and bloodthirsty, Pelagiarctos will sink its teeth into nearly any creature it can get. Quite often, a large bull will charge uninvited into Allodesmus (prehistoric seal) rookeries, lumbering down the secluded, sandy beaches, often plowing down Allodesmus females and babies on its way. Its rampage is meant to kill any competition, whether it is the same species or another. Cannibalism has been recorded in bulls, where it will often grab a hold of the pup and then beat it to death on a rock while its jaw force crushes bone like a mammalian car crusher.

Reproduction: Solitary by nature, Pelagiarctos individuals only come together in small groups during breeding season, which takes place in October. It usually consists of genders exchanging raucous, guttural bellows and then mating. Brawls over a certain female are not unknown, and many old males bear scars from battles they have fought. After a fourteen month gestation period, the mother gives birth to a single pup and rears it until October, when it is left to fend on its own when its polygamous (mating with several contenders) mother receives attention from new males.

Danger Level: Medium-High: Pelagiarctos attacks are definitely not unheard of. Several individuals were capsized from an ice floe when a pod of Pelagiarctos, identifying them as possible food sources, repeatedly tried to flip the floating hunk of ice. Pelagiarctos bulls have been known to ambush from under water and chomp down on the legs of unfortunate souls, trying to drag them to their doom; one individual was once dragged from an ice floe into the water, where he died of drowning by the temperamental walrus.

Note: While these pinnipeds are skilled in maneuvering on ice floes, over rock beds, and under water, on regular land they are clumsy. When fleeing from a Pelagiarctos, try climbing over a small cliff or try reaching a grassy turf. They will be unable to pursue you any longer.