Narwhal - The Unicorn Of The Sea / Documentary

Often referred to as the “Unicorn of the Sea”, the narwhal (also known as Narwhale) is a medium-sized toothed-whale distinct in its appearance, sounds, and swimming patterns. These oceanic animals are most notable for their protruding teeth, which many often mistake as horns but are, in fact, tusks! Spiraled, left-sided, and long, these tusks have been the narwhals’ most attractive and peculiar feature as well as the source of their endangerment. Belonging to the same family as beluga whales, the narwhal is also related to bottlenose dolphins, orcas, and harbor porpoises. The Icelandic name "Narwhal", or "Narwhale", as some would often prefer, literally means “corpse whale”. This is because the narwhal often swims with its belly up and sometimes lies so still you’ll think it’s dead. Coupled with this is its pale corpse-like color! The older narwhals get, the whiter they become. Its Greek scientific name “Monodon monoceros” is a phrase that means "one tooth, one horn", referring to its long spiraled tusk and the animal's second tooth, which is often undeveloped. Essentially all narwhals – male or female have two teeth in their upper jaw. However, male narwhals are the ones who often grow the visible, distinctively long tusks. While the females’ teeth are usually vestigial or undeveloped, about 15% of female narwhals also grow tusks, but not as long as the males. In every 500 male narwhals, there is one with two tusks! They are rare, but they exist! We'll discuss these tusks' interesting functions and facts later in this video. But for now, let's examine the size and weight of the narwhal. If we do not consider the length of the tusks, narwhals are about the same size as an adult beluga whale. Male narwhals are often proportionately larger than females. Narwhals measure between 13 and 18 feet (or 4 to 5.5 meters), excluding the tusk. The tusk alone measures between 5 and 10 feet (or about 1.5 to 3 meters)! In terms of weight, male narwhals can weigh up to 1,600 kilograms (about 3,500 pounds) while females are often about half as heavy as their male counterparts. The tusk alone weighs about 10 kilograms (or 22 pounds). Having examined the size and weight, where do narwhals live? Narwhals are the northernmost living whales on earth. They live predominantly within the Arctic and the Atlantic Ocean. They are rarely ever seen in the Pacific Ocean, but prefer the frigid waters surrounding Greenland, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Norway (Svalbard to be more precise), and Russia. In summer, narwhals would often inhabit coastal waters. They would migrate to deeper waters in winter, congregating around ice packs. During winter, they often dive deep to depths of up to 1500 meters (about 5,000 feet). They do this more than 15 times daily, spending about 25 minutes submerged each time they dive. This includes the time they spend on the ocean’s floor and the time it takes to dive down and come back up. To reduce the time it takes to get to the ocean floor, they would often dive vertically as they speed through the freezing water with their long tusks, making them look like a torpedo. Narwhals are long-lived animals – like many other oceanic mammals like sperm whales, beluga whales, and whales in general. On average, narwhals live to be half a century old. According to Britannica, the longest-lived narwhals live well over a century. Some individuals live to be 125 years old. Narwhals are predators which feed on cuttlefish, shrimp, cod, fish, squid, Greenland halibut, capelin, skate eggs, and wolfish. Their long teeth, which are in the form of tusks, are of no use in biting, cutting, tearing, or chewing prey. As a result, they feed on prey by moving close to the prey and sucking it in with great force swallowing the prey whole. Does the narwhal have natural predators? They do have a limited number of predators. They live so far up north in extremely frigid waters and are very elusive, so it's no wonder they have few predators. The primary natural predator of narwhals is the polar bear which would often attack them at designated breathing holes. When narwhals become trapped by ice packs in their search for a suitable watering hole, polar bears take advantage by hunting the helpless animals. The greatest natural predator of narwhals, however, are humans! The Inuit people of Canada, in particular, hunt the narwhal for its ivory tusk, as it is often incorporated into traditional medicine, and for its skin which is very rich in vitamin C. The tusk of the narwhal is so high-priced to the extent that Queen Elizabeth I is said to have bought a narwhal tusk for 10,000 £! This is equal to 2 million £ in today’s value. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the narwhal as "nearly threatened" with an estimated global population pegged at somewhere between 50,000 and 80,000 individuals. Narrator: Larry G. Jones