How Sensitive Are Walrus Whiskers?
Walrus have a lot of whiskers because they need to search for food on the seafloor. Unlike other Pinnipeds that eat fish, Walrus eat mollusks and other creatures that live in the seabed. Because their eyes are placed on the side of their head, Walrus have a difficult time seeing their food, so they have to use whiskers to feel for their food. How sensitive are Walrus whiskers? Around 30 years ago, a group of researchers did an experiment to find out. First, the researchers trained a Walrus to nod if he felt a triangle or shake his head if he felt a circle when nuzzling a board with a triangle shape on one side and a circle on the other side. The Walrus had earphones over his eyes so that he couldn't see the shape, and the researchers would know that the Walrus was feeling the shape with his whiskers and not looking at it. Photo of training setup, from the paper " The sensitivity of the Vibrissae of a Pacific Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens). Part 1" ...