Gene Fields Jr., age 11, of Burlington, Vt., for his question:

IS THE WALRUS REALLY A SEAL?

The walrus is a sea animal that lives in parts of the Arctic, North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. Scientists classify the walrus as a kind of large seal, but it is definitely in a family of its own. It is the only seal with tusks.

The walrus has two ivory tusks and its four feet are flattened into flippers. The flippers make the walrus a very good swimmer.

Walruses are mammals. An adult male grows to be about 12 feet long and weighs up to 3,000 pounds. The female is smaller.

The tusks of    the walrus, which are actually its upper canine teeth, point downwardand may grow to be as long as 39 inches. The walrus defends itself from polar bears with its tusks. It also uses them as hooks when climbing onto ice.

As a rule, walruses do not attack man. But an angry, wounded walrus can injure a hunter and damage his boat with its giant tusks.

A walrus makes a loud bellow that can be heard for at least half a mile. This bellowing helps hunters find the animals.

A female walrus usually has one calf every other year and cares for her young for about two years. Twins are very rare. Baby walruses are grayish brown and adults are rusty brown. Some walruses live as long as 40 years.

Most walruses live in herds, but some live alone. Some Eskimos hunt walruses and they eat the meat. They also use the hides to make shelters or boats and burn the animals' blubber oil for heat and light. Some Eskimos also carve walrus tusks into figures of animals and hunting scenes.

During the winter and spring, walruses drift along large floating fields of ice. In summer, some of the animals will rest on shore.

A walrus spends much time in the water searching for food. It looks for clams, its favorite food, probably while skidding along the ocean bottom on its tusks.

The walrus uses its tongue to form a vacuum to suck clams into its mouth as it swims along the ocean floor.

A walrus has bristles on its upper lip. These bristles are sensitive to touch and probably help the walrus find food.

While weighing up to 3,000 pounds, the walrus isn't the largest relative in the seal family. That honor goes to the giant southern elephant seal, which lives in the sub Antarctic waters off South America. The male may grow to be 21 feet long and weigh as much as 8,000 pounds. This seal ranks second in size only to whales among ail sea mammals.

The smallest seal is the ringed seal of the Arctic. This animal is about four and a half feet long and weighs up to 200 pounds.