Narwhal Whale
The Narwhal is regularly found eastwards from the Canadian Arctic to central Russia, but occur infrequently or rarely in eastern Siberia, Aslaska, and the western Canadian Arctic. They mostly remain above the Arctic Circle year-round, but stragglers have been recorded aroung Newfoundland, Europe, and the eastern Mediterranean. They are rarely seen in winter due to poor light and weather conditions, and they migrate along with the advance and retreat of the sea ice.
Classification: Monodon monocerus means 'one tooth, one horn'. There are close similarities between this species, the Beluga and the Irrawaddy Dolphin, but it is accepted that the Narwhal belongs in its own family, Monodontidae.
Local Names: Kelleluak kakortok (Greenland); Quilalugaq (Canada); Narwhale.
Description:The Narwhal has a stocky body, with no dorsal fin and small flippers. The flukes are unlike any other cetcean's, with a more rounded, semi-circular appearance. Calves are grey or brownish-grey when born, and as they grow, the familiar mottled skin pattern appears. In turn, this mottled, marbled patterning of the skin grows lighter as the animal approaches old age, often turning into grey or off-white with occasional dark patches. A dark line may also be observed running down the back. There are only two teeth, both in the upper jaw, the left of which erupts in one-year-old males to form the familiar tusk, which can measure up to ten feet in length. This tusk appears solely in males, however, one in three females have been reported with a much smaller tusk of around four feet. Occasionally both teeth erupt to form a double tusk, the right of which is smaller than the left. It is the tusk that earnt this cetacean the name 'unicorn of the sea', and to find a tusk washed ashore is considered lucky. To kill a Narwhal for its tusk is considered, in old tradition, unlucky. Narwhals are around 4.7m (males) and 4.2m (females) in length, and weigh between 800kg and 1.6 tonnes.
Recognition at sea: The male Narwhal is impossible to confuse with other cetaceans, because of its tusk. When travelling, males will sometimes lift their tusks out of the water at different angles, or they will be visible at the surface. Female and young Narwhals may be confused with the Beluga, which is of similar shape, but only when conditions are poor. The blow is weak and inconpicuous.
Habitat: Narwhals occur rarely far from ice, mainly in Arctic and subarctic waters, and sometimes enter shallow bays in summer. They are, however, more likely to be found in deep fjords.
Food & Feeding:The Narwhal feeds on fish, squid (most commonly Gonatus fabricii) and shrimps. Commonly taken fish include Boreogadus (Arctic Cod), Arctogadus (Polar Cod) and Reinhardtius (Greenland Halibut).
Behaviour: Narwhals tend to travel in groups of between two and ten individuals, with very tight mother/calf associations. These groups are often segregated by sex, with pods of male 'batchelors' common. Narwhals and Belugas often travel and feed together, and amassed groups of hundreds or thousands have been reported. It is thought that the tusk is used in the same way as deer stags use their antlers - to fight rival males. They communicate via pulses and clicks.
Longevity: Approximately 50 years.
Estimated Current Population: 25,000-45,000 animals. Locally common.
The Influence of Man: Narwhals are are hunted from the ice, from boats and from kayaks in Canada and Greenland. The Inuit people prize them for their skin (known as mattak or muktuk), which is eaten in the traditional way - raw with a thin layer of fat. The tusk of the Narwhal is also prized, this time as a money-earner: tourists and collectors pay handsomely for the sea-unicorn's horn. Narwhals are either shot and then harpooned (which means that, since more animals are wounded than are killed, there are many losses), or harpooned and then shot. Around 3,000 were once caught per annum in Canada alone, and in the whaling season of 1914/15 some 2,000 animals were taken by Greenland. Nowadays, however, between 300-550 are caught in Canada, and around 560 in Greenland.
Source: CETACEA
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