The skeleton of Tack the walrus is seen at Kamogawa Sea World in Kamogawa, Chiba Prefecture. (Photo courtesy of the aquarium)

       KAMOGAWA, Chiba -- A rare skeleton of an enormous male walrus is set to go on display at Kamogawa Sea World aquarium here on Dec. 10.

       Some skeletons of the oceangoing mammals native to the coastal areas of the Arctic Circle have been exhibited in Japan, but they have been of cubs and females. But exhibits of 3-meter-long adult specimens like the one going on display at the aquarium in Kamogawa, Chiba Prefecture, eastern Japan, are apparently rare anywhere in the world.

       The skeleton is of Tack, a male walrus the aquarium bought from the then Soviet Union in 1983. Before his death in October 2019, his enormous girth -- he weighed over 1 metric ton -- drew plenty of visitors. He fathered nine calves during his time in captivity, which lasted for as long as 13,093 days -- a Japanese record.

       Tack the walrus is weighed on Oct. 29, 2006. (Mainichi)

       Tack's skeleton includes some bones, such as the tongue bone, missing in other specimens. This, and that there is a complete record of his captivity, apparently makes Tack's skeleton of high academic value. For the casual observer, though, it is perhaps his 90-centimeter-plus tusks curving majestically from his upper jaw that leave the biggest impression.

       The aquarium plans to hold special viewings of the skeleton and lectures about keeping walruses from 1 p.m. on Dec. 12, 19, 26 and Jan. 9.

       (Japanese original by Keigetsu Hirai, Tateyama Local Bureau)

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