Natasja

female Pacific walrus (O. r. divergens)

wild caught in 1974

deceased on May 28th, 2014

Ancestors and Descendants

No known related animals.

Transfer History

  1. capture 1974 in Wrangel Island, Russia

  2. transfer 1974 to Moscow Zoo

  3. transfer 1974 to Dolfinarium Harderwijk

  4. death 2014-May-28 at Dolfinarium Harderwijk

Physical Data

The dates listed here generally represent the time at which the measurements were published, not necessarily the date on which they were taken.

Weight

  • 1988: 1,193 kg · 2,630 lb

  • 1988: 1,184 kg · 2,610 lb

  • 1988: 1,188 kg · 2,619 lb

  • 1988: 1,151 kg · 2,537 lb

  • 1988: 1,152 kg · 2,539 lb

Diet

"The animals were fed 3 to 6 times per day on an average diet of 35% herring (Clupea harengus; approx. 8880 kJ/kg), 26% mackerel (Scomber scombrus; approx. 9550 kJ/kg), 9% sprat (Sprattus sprattus; approx. 10.400 kJ/kg), 2% whiting (Merlangius merlangus; approx. 4750 kJ/kg), and 28% squid (Illex spp.; approx. 1000 kJ/kg) by weight. Vitamins (Seavit>, 1 tablet per 2.5 kg of food) were added to this thawed diet." (R. A. Kastelein et al, 2000)

  • 1976: 5,500 kg · 12,125 lb annually

  • 1978: 10,000 kg · 22,046 lb annually

  • 1987: 7,500 kg · 16,534 lb annually

  • 1995: 7,500 kg · 16,534 lb annually

Image Gallery

No images available at this time.

Identifiers

Local

Other

Notes and Information

The images found here have all been gathered either from this facility's official resources or news articles.

This walrus was estimated to have been born in May of 1974, arriving at Harderwijk at five months of age -- this places her date of transfer around October.

While most sources agree that Natasja was captured in Russia, at least one states that she was collected in Alaska.

References

  • 1976-Jul-13. Leidsch Dagblad. Privé "Nova Zembla" voor die walrussen. Retrieved from Erfgoed Leiden [archive].

  • 1984-Jul-28. Leidsch Dagblad. Dolfinarium Harderwijk. Retrieved from Erfgoed Leiden.

  • 1989. Kathy Irene Fisher. Food habits and digestive efficiency in walrus, Odobenus rosmarus. Retrieved from University of Manitoba [archive].

  • 1990-Jan. R. A. Kastelein and N. M. Gerrits. The anatomy of the Walrus head (Odobenus rosmarus). Part 1: The skull. Retrieved from researchgate.net [archive].

  • 2000-Jan. R. A. Kastelein et al. Food consumption and body weight of captive Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens). Retrieved from researchgate.net [archive]