Narwhals

A bit about them:

This month's animal is brought to you by Narwhelle, my Nurturing and Nifty auntie, Narelle!
(With the very convenient nickname of this months animal)

Narwhals are truly one of the best examples of natural selection. How else could something so incredibly ridiculous exist?
This month we'll look into as much as we know about these hard to study animals, and maybe learn why they are the whale species most threatened by Climate Change.

Common Name:

A Narwhal

The 'Nár' in Narwhal is Old Norse for 'corpse', so the name means
"corpse whale".

Also known as the Unicorn of the sea (I don't think I have to explain why)

Scientific name:

Closely related to/Family tree:

The Narwhal's closest relative is the Beluga whale.

These two are the only species left in the Monodontidae family and are similar in that they both lack a dorsal fin and have a pronounced melon (We'll cover this later on).

Often called the white whales.... because... they're.. White (Or mostly anyways)

Kingdom:

Animalia

Phylum:

Chordata

Class:

Mammalia

Order:

Artiodactyla

Family:

Monodontidae

Genus:

Monodon

Species:

Monoceros

Appearance:

Narwhals are very unique looking creatures that on average are 4-5m long (Excluding horn) and usually weigh from 800-1600 kg.

Through countershading methods that most sea creatures have, they are further camouflaged. 

[Countershading camouflage is where the top side of an animal is darker than its underside. Particularly useful for sea creatures because a predator above would look down into the ever darkening water and struggle to see the outline of its prey. A predator looking upwards would be looking into the light, and the lighter underside of the prey would again blend its silhouette into its surroundings. ]

Looking very similar in size and shape to a Beluga Whale, their major exceptions to looking like other whales or porpoises are their colourings and of course, the most recognisable feature of the Narwhal, their tusk!

I won't go into the difference between tusks, horns and antlers here, but tusks are essentially elongated teeth. Therefore the Narwhals tusk is a very long pointy tooth.
It's front left tooth to be precise.
 Their tooth grows through their upper lip to form their distinguishable tusk. In some very rare cases, the front right tooth can develop into a second tusk, giving the Narwhal some chopsticks to eat more politely with.

Tusks are mostly only grown by males, however it isn't uncommon for a female to grow one too. Female tusks aren't as long however and there has only ever been one recorded case of a female growing two tusks.

The tusk spirals counter clockwise and grows constantly from birth, reaching lengths of 3m! It is hollow and can weigh up to 10Kg

Other than this one giant tooth and the occasional second tooth, the Narwhals mouth is toothless, with only the remnants of teeth in their gums. So for all of you who wanted to look into a Narwhals mouth, now's your chance!

A group is called:

A blessing of Narwhals!

Status:

History:

The Narwhal is said to have gained its tusk in Inuit legend, after a woman who was harpooning narwhals (pre-tusk) with a rope attached to her waist, was dragged into the water after she hit her target. She became a Narwhal, her long hair twisting in the water around her harpoon to resemble the twisted tusk of the Narwhal.

Important to Inuit tribes as a source of food, Narwhal is rich in vitamin C and D. The skin and blubber (Muktuk) are consumed as a delicacy and the vertebrae are made into tools and or jewellery.

Medieval Europeans thought the Narwhals tusk the fabled horn of the Unicorn. Carrying many mystical and medicinal powers then, a unicorn horn (Actually a Narwhal tusk) could be sold for a good fortune.
These days, Unicorn horns have been debunked by science, and as it turns out, don't actually have any powers, so you won't be able to sell it for very much. Oh, also Unicorns aren't real, so I don't know where you got that horn from?

Range:

Habitat:

Narwhals live exclusively in the Arctic, ranging from Baffin Bay in Western Greenland to Eastern parts of the Arctic sea above Russia.

Feeding style:

Narwhals eat predominantly Arctic Cod and Greenland Halibut but also substitute their diet with cuttlefish, shrimp and squid.

They don't have any teeth to capture their prey, and are thought to be able to create a strong suction from their mouth, vortexing their prey into their mouths.

Narwhals lucky enough to have a tusk are thought to be able to detect small pressure changes in the water around their tusk, therefore aiding them to locate their prey at close quarters. They have also been documented to give their prey a quick tap with their tusk to stun and discombobulate them for an easier catch.

And no, they have never been seen to skewer their prey with their tusk. Actually, there have been no recordings of Narwhals ever using their tusks for violence.

Predators:

For once, Humans aren't the only predators of this animal, or even the biggest.

Polar bears are a narwhals biggest enemy.

 As the Narwhals have to pop up in little breathing holes in the ice, there isn't much option for them when a polar bear is there waiting for them. Options are suffocate by going back down, or risk being eaten.

The surface isn't their only danger spot, there are just as many threats down below.
Greenland sharks, Orcas and walruses all enjoy preying on Narwhals.

While the Polar bears, walruses and Sharks could only really manage a young Narwhal, orcas have a team advantage against even the adults.
Cunning pod hunters, Orcas know how to herd up a feast of Narwhal and can 'capture' and kill up to a dozen at a time.

A Narwhal is smart enough to not attempt out running an Orca and instead opting to hide under ice sheets where an Orca may not be able to fit. This leaves them between a rock and a hard place with the time pressure of drowning also weighing them down. Once again, their options are: Chance the Orcas, Chance the Polar Bears at the breathing hole or hold their breath as long as possible.

Mating/sleeping:

Narwhals, like other cetaceans have to consciously breathe air. While we can take breathes as we need, cetaceans have to surface and take big breathes every so often through their blowholes. So what happens when they sleep?

Cetaceans sleep a little differently to land dwellers in that they are never fully asleep. They have to shut down half of their brain at a time for several reasons, including; so they don't sink, so their blowhole doesn't open and drown them or so they can stay vigilant for predators.

While the exact purpose of their tusk isn't known, a popular opinion is that it is used for mate selection. A good indicator of a good mate is one with a long tusk, but it's not all about the size, it's also what they can do with it.

A female will be able to bear young from 6-8 years old and will mate from April-May. With an extraordinary 14 month gestation period, it isn't until June the next year that the young are born.
Like most marine mammals, the young are only born with a little bit of blubber, and the extra fatty milk provided by mum over the next 20 months allows them to slowly be able to put on weight. During this 20 month period, calves rarely stray more than two body lengths from mum and use this time to learn as many skills as possible.

Habits/behaviours:

Narwhals communicate through clicks and whistles (Think whale noises... because they are a kind of whale) but also often make noises described as trumpeting and squeaky door noises.

These travel from the blowhole to the melon to be amplified and altered. Cetacean melons are large sections of fatty tissue which can have its shape altered by surrounding muscles to alter and amplify sounds made near the blowhole.

Travelling in groups of around 20, they are gregarious mammals who especially around popular bays can be found in groups of thousands.

Narwhals can live for 115 years plus! But the average lifespan is 50 years, and as far as I can tell, it's because they like to live on the edge.

When diving around the arctic ice between air pockets, most of them over estimate how long they can hold their breathes for and will suffocate before finding somewhere to come up and breathe. 

An additional use for their tusks is thought to be to break through thinner ice sheets for a quick breath. But based off their mortality rates, I don't know if I believe this one.

Entrapment occurs when all exits to a bay are sealed shut by ice sheets, with no air pockets close enough for any narwhals to reach before suffocation. The worst entrapment incident occurred in 1915 west of Greenland, where over 1000 Narwhals became trapped and died either of suffocation or starvation.

Cool tricks:

There is a case of a whale skull being found and having traits of both the beluga and narwhal, later proved to be a hybrid with DNA testing. Despite being different species, The Beluga and Narwhal may have potential to rarely interbreed. Making a Beluwhal? Or Narluga?

A Unicorn horn (Narwhal tusk), carved and jewel encrusted, was gifted to Queen Elizabeth I. It was worth 10,000 pounds, or about the cost of a castle back then.

Narwhals can't be kept in captivity. Anytime people have tried, they have died a few months later.

Conservation:

Narwhals are at a status of Least concern according to the IUCN, however this could change very soon with the current trends of Human induced climate change. As they only reside in the cool waters of the Arctic, they have very few options once the ice sheets there melt; and they are melting. As the ice recedes in the increasingly warmer climate, not only do the Narwhals have increasingly less space to hunt during the winter, but there is more space for shipping routes to spread to. 

Adopt a Narwhal:

Adopt through WWF

You can adopt a Narwhal through WWF to help with their conservation efforts and you could receive a Narwhal teddy!

Finally enjoy a classic song which is the inspiration for my auntie's nickname.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone who reads along!

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narwhal

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/n/narwhal/

https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/unicorn-of-the-sea-narwhal-facts

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/narwhal

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/55994/7-fascinating-facts-about-narwhals

https://au.whales.org/whales-dolphins/species-guide/narwhal/

https://www.majesticwhaleencounters.com.au/narwhals-myths-legends-and-facts

https://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/wildlife/Arctic_animals/narwhal-arctic-whale.php

https://www.britannica.com/animal/narwhal

https://www.tonillobet.com/en/uncategorized/hmw4-marine-mammals/