Martin Nweeia, a Connecticut dentist and a clinical instructor at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, has been traveling to the Arctic for fourteen years to study narwhals, and, in particular, their tusks. He’s given some scientific talks about his research over the years and published some details in book chapters. But now he and a team of colleagues from Harvard, the Smithsonian, the University of Minnesota, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and elsewhere have published a detailed account of their studies on the narwhal tusk in the Anatomical Record a detailed account of their studies on the narwhal tusk in the Anatomical Record. They conclude that the tusk is a sense organ that lets male narwhals perceive the ocean, possibly helping them find mates or food. Inuit are able to hunt this whale species legally, as discussed above. Narwhals have been extensively hunted the same way as other sea mammals, such as seals and whales, for their large quantities of fat. Almost all parts of the narwhal; the meat, skin, blubber and organs are consumed. Muktuk, the name for raw skin and attached blubber, is considered a delicacy. One or two vertebrae per animal are used for tools and art. [56] [8] The skin is an important source of vitamin C which is otherwise difficult to obtain in the Arctic Circle. In some places in Greenland, such as Qaanaaq, traditional hunting methods are used and whales are harpooned from handmade kayaks. In other parts of Greenland and Northern Canada, high-speed boats and hunting rifles are used. [8] Taxonomy and etymology Illustration of a narwhal (lower image) and a beluga (upper image), its closest related species They are sometimes referred to as the ‘ unicorn of the sea‘, as the male Narwahl has a single long sword-like spiral tusk, which protrudes from their heads. The over 100,000 narwhals worldwide today are divided into subpopulations of between a few thousand to up to 30,000 animals, based on where they spend the summer, in ice-free bays and fjords or at glacial fronts. In autumn, they migrate to overwintering areas that are deep, offshore and ice-covered, usually along the continental slope. Most feeding takes place in winter, and then females give birth in spring.

The narwhal has brought wonder, curiosity and speculation for centuries. Unlike some whale species that migrate, narwhals spend their lives in the Arctic waters of Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia. Here’s ten facts you may not have known about this remarkable Arctic species: 1. Naming The narwhal was one of many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. [7] Its name is derived from the Old Norse word nár, meaning "corpse", in reference to the animal's greyish, mottled pigmentation, like that of a drowned sailor [8] and its summertime habit of lying still at or near the surface of the sea (called "logging"). [9] The scientific name, Monodon monoceros, is derived from Greek: "one-tooth one-horn". [8] The most conspicuous characteristic of the male narwhal is a single long tusk, which is in fact a canine tooth [19] [20] that projects from the left side of the upper jaw, through the lip and forms a left-handed helical spiral. The tusk grows throughout life, reaching a length of about 1.5 to 3.1m (4.9 to 10.2ft). It is hollow and weighs around 10kg (22lb). About one in 500 males has two tusks, occurring when the right canine also grows out through the lip. Only about 15 per cent of females grow a tusk, [21] which typically is smaller than a male tusk, with a less noticeable spiral. [22] [23] [24] There is only one known case of a female growing a second tusk; the specimen (right) was collected in 1684. [25] Carwardine, Mark (1995). DK Handbooks: Whales Dolphins and Porpoises. Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 978-1-56458-620-9.

The tusk that is the narwhal’s claim to fame

A recent study has found that narwhal tusks are innervated sensory organs that transmit ocean water inputs to the brain. Because of this ability to sense changes in water temperature and chemicals, it is possible for narwhals to “taste” the environment around them. They can obtain food and learn when the females around them are ready to mate thanks to this mechanism. 9. What Do Narwhals Eat? The narwhal tusk is a predominantly male characteristic, but about 15% of females also have a tusk. (Image credit: Glenn Williams/NIST) Where do narwhals live?

Linnaeus, C (1758). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata (in Latin). Holmiae. (Laurentii Salvii). p.824. The narwhal was one of two possible explanations offered by Professor Pierre Aronnax in regards to the naval phenomena damaging ships in Jules Verne's 1870 novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea; Aronnax comes to this conclusion by presuming that "we do know all the living species"; he was unwilling to speculate wildly to the American press. Verne writes: "The common narwhal or sea unicorn often attains a length of 18.3m (60ft)." For the narwhal to have caused the damage to the various vessels, Aronnax stated that its size and strength would have to increase by five or ten times; Drone footage is enlightening because the drones are able to collect data in a way which is largely unobtrusive and they don't seem to affect the behaviour of the animals that are studied.'

Fish-stunning footage

This cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen. The narwhal’s scientific name is Monodon monoceros, which means “one tooth, one horn” in Latin. This refers to the fact that narwhals are born with two canine teeth, one of which (in males) grows into a horn. They can weigh up to 1.5 tonnes and adult males can be about five metres long. 10. Affected by climate change

Heide-Jørgensen, M. P.; Hansen, R. G.; Westdal, K.; Reeves, R. R. & Mosbech, A. (2013). "Narwhals and seismic exploration: Is seismic noise increasing the risk of ice entrapments?". Biological Conservation. 158: 50–54. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2012.08.005.a b Laidre K.; Heide-Jorgensen, M.P.; Stern, H. & Richard, P. (2011). "Unusual narwhal sea ice entrapments and delayed autumn freeze-up trends" (PDF). Polar Biology. 35: 149–154. doi: 10.1007/s00300-011-1036-8. S2CID 2290952. Powdered, the substance was used as an aphrodisiac, a medicine and a poison detector, reported another article from Smithsonian magazine. In their intact, spiraling form, narwhal tusks were carved into utensils, scepters, swords and more. At the height of its trade, Smithsonian wrote, narwhal tusk was worth ten times its weight in gold. The tusk is essentially unique to male narwhals. Very rarely, a female will grow a tusk, or even more rarely a male narwhal will grow two. Tusks exported from the Arctic, perhaps by the Vikings, reached Europe, the Mediterranean and even the Far East as early as the Middle Ages and became the source of the unicorn myth. The tusks were sold to the very rich without a good description of the animal from which they came and inspired a great deal of fantasy. A Danish coronation chair from the 1600s is made of narwhal tusks. Image via Richard Mortel/ Wikimedia, Now, narwhal tusk is a protected substance regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). It is generally illegal to import narwhal tusks into the U.S., although some trade of narwhal products from animals killed before 1972 — the year the U.S. officially adopted the Marine Mammal Protection Act — is allowed. Narwhals can live up to 50 years [ inconsistent] and often die by suffocation after being trapped due to the formation of sea ice. Other causes of death, specifically among young whales, are starvation and predation by orcas. As previous estimates of the world narwhal population were below 50,000, narwhals are categorised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as " nearly threatened". More recent estimates list higher populations (upwards of 170,000), thus lowering the status to " least concern". [4] Narwhals have been harvested for hundreds of years by Inuit in northern Canada and Greenland for meat and ivory and a regulated subsistence hunt continues.