During courtship, males display visually and vocally from the water. Stereotyped sequences of sounds occur both above and below water. Males engage in tusk-threat displays to establish dominance. C. Other Communication. Walruses communicate through sound, sight, touch, and smell.
Tactual communication occurs through body contact.
Walruses haul out in herds in close contact with one another. A mother shelters her calf under her chest between her foreflippers. A calf often rides on its mother's back in the water. Adults engaged in dominance conflicts may strike each other with their tusks. Courtship displays continue until a female physically contacts a displaying male in the water.