Is Oosik an ivory?

Oosik (pronounced “oooh sick”) is a term used in Native Alaska cultures to describe the baculum of walruses, seals, sea lions, and polar bears. This spectacular oosik has carved Walrus ivory end caps and baleen accents. Made by Inupiaq artist Warren Kakoona of Brevig, Alaska.

What is a walrus Oosik?

Oosik. Oosik is a term used in Native Alaska cultures to describe the bacula of walruses, seals, sea lions and polar bears. In 2007, a 4.5 ft-long (1.4 m) fossilized penis bone from an extinct species of walrus, believed by the seller to be the largest in existence, was sold for $8,000.

What is the largest walrus ever recorded?

Tipping the scales at an estimated 3,700 lbs, it takes a lot of fish to please a walrus the size of Odin. Accompanied by female Dyna and two others, Odin has just arrived at Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg, Germany from a zoo in Moscow, Russia.

Is walrus tusk considered ivory?

Walrus tusk ivory comes from two modified upper canines. Whole cross-sections of walrus tusks are generally oval with widely spaced indentations. The dentine is composed of two types: primary dentine and secondary dentine (often called osteodentine). Primary dentine has a classical ivory appearance.

How big is a double Tusker walrus ivory tusk?

DOUBLE TUSKER Walrus Ivory Narwhal, with baleen eyes and fossil Walrus Ivory tusks… 5 inches long. Mammoth Ivory base, Fossil walrus Tooth intermediate. $208.00

How big was the largest walrus oosik ever found?

The largest oosik ever recovered measured four-and-a-half feet long, belonging to a long-extinct walrus of gigantic proportions. Found by Russian fossil hunters combing defrosting permafrost for wooly mammoth remains, the four-foot oosik was so well preserved that bits of skin remained intact.

Can a walrus tusk be used as a knife handle?

It is true that Inuit hunters have found millennias-old oosiks frozen in ice and turned the fossilized bones into clubs and knife handles. While many people may want to emulate the walrus’s blubbery fury with a tusk, others have decided they see more power in the symbol of a walruses masculinity.

Where are the walrus teeth located on the tusk?

These walrus teeth are located behind the primary tusks (behind the canine teeth). Ranging in size from 2 to 5 cm (1 to 2 1/2 “) long they are used for micro-carving, small scrimshaw and jewelry. In wood working they are used sliced in inlay or in mask making. Narwhal Tusk – Monodon monoceros