The narwhal (''Monodon monoceros'') is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

toothed whale The toothed whales (also called odontocetes, systematic name Odontoceti) are a parvorder of cetaceans that includes dolphins, porpoises, and all other whales with teeth, such as beaked whales and the sperm whales. 73 species of toothed wha ...

native to the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

. It is the only member of the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Monodon'' and one of two living representatives of the family

Monodontidae The cetacean family Monodontidae comprises two living whale species, the narwhal and the beluga whale and at least four extinct species, known from the fossil record. Beluga and narwhal are native to coastal regions and pack ice around the Arcti ...

. The narwhal is a stocky cetacean with a relatively blunt snout, a large

melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. It can also specifically refer to ''Cucumis melo'', commonly known as the "true melon" or simply "melon". The term "melon" can apply to both the p ...

, and a shallow ridge in place of a

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

. Males of this species have a large () long

tusk Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canine tooth, canine teeth, as with Narwhal, narwhals, chevrotains, musk deer, water deer, muntjac, pigs, ...

, which is a protruding left

canine Canine may refer to: Zoology and anatomy * Animals of the family Canidae, more specifically the subfamily Caninae, which includes dogs, wolves, foxes, jackals and coyotes ** ''Canis'', a genus that includes dogs, wolves, coyotes, and jackals ** Do ...

thought to function as a weapon, a tool for feeding, in attracting mates or sensing water salinity. Specially adapted

slow-twitch muscle Skeletal muscle (commonly referred to as muscle) is one of the three types of vertebrate muscle tissue, the others being cardiac muscle and smooth muscle. They are part of the somatic nervous system, voluntary muscular system and typically are a ...

s, along with the jointed neck vertebrae and shallow dorsal ridge allow for easy movement through the Arctic environment, where the narwhal spends extended periods at great depths. The narwhal's geographic range overlaps with that of the similarly built and closely related beluga whale, and the animals are known to

interbreed In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different variety (botany), varieties, subspecies, species or genus, genera through sexual reproduction. Generally, it means that each cell has gene ...

. Narwhals inhabit the Arctic waters of Canada, Greenland and Russia. Every year, they

migrate Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

to ice-free summering grounds, usually in shallow waters, and often

return Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document or t ...

to the same sites in subsequent years. Their diet mainly consists of

polar Polar may refer to: Geography * Geographical pole, either of the two points on Earth where its axis of rotation intersects its surface ** Polar climate, the climate common in polar regions ** Polar regions of Earth, locations within the polar circ ...

and

Arctic cod ''Arctogadus glacialis'', known also with ambiguous common names Arctic cod and polar cod, is an Arctic species of fish in the cod Family (biology), family Gadidae, related to the true Gadus, cod (genus ''Gadus''). ''Arctogadus glacialis'' is fo ...

Greenland halibut The Greenland halibut or Greenland turbot (''Reinhardtius hippoglossoides'') belongs to the family Pleuronectidae (the right-eye flounders), and is the monotypic, only species of the genus ''Reinhardtius''. It is a predatory fish that mostly rang ...

cuttlefish Cuttlefish, or cuttles, are Marine (ocean), marine Mollusca, molluscs of the order (biology), suborder Sepiina. They belong to the class (biology), class Cephalopoda which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses. Cuttlefish have a unique ...

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

, and

armhook squid The Gonatidae, also known as armhook squid, are a family of moderately sized squid. The family contains about 19 species in three genera, widely distributed and plentiful in cold boreal waters of the Pacific Ocean. At least one species is known f ...

. Diving to depths of up to , the narwhal is among the deepest-diving

cetacean Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals belonging to the order Artiodactyla that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively c ...

s. The animals typically travel in groups of three to eight, with aggregations of up to 1,000 occurring in the summer months. Narwhals mate among the offshore

pack ice Pack or packs may refer to: Music * Packs (band), a Canadian indie rock band * ''Packs'' (album), by Your Old Droog * ''Packs'', a Berner album Places * Pack, Styria, defunct Austrian municipality * Pack, Missouri, United States (US) * ...

from March to May, and the young are born between July and August of the following year. When communicating amongst themselves, narwhals use a variety of clicks, whistles and knocks. There are an estimated 170,000 living narwhals, and the species is listed as being of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

(IUCN). The population is threatened by the

effects of climate change Effects of climate change are well documented and growing for Earth's natural environment and human societies. Changes to the climate system include an Instrumental temperature record, overall warming trend, Effects of climate change on the ...

, such as reduction in ice cover and human activities such as

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

and

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

. Narwhals have been hunted for thousands of years by

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

in northern Canada and Greenland for

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

and

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mamm ...

, and regulated subsistence hunting continues to this day.

Taxonomy

The narwhal was scientifically described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in his 1758 publication ''Systema Naturae''. The word "narwhal" comes from the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

, meaning 'corpse-whale', which possibly refers to the animal's grey, mottled skin and its habit of remaining motionless when at the water's surface, a behaviour known as "logging" that usually happens in the summer. The scientific name, ''Monodon monoceros'', is derived from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

, meaning 'single-tooth single-horn'. The narwhal is most closely related to the beluga whale (''Delphinapterus leucas''). Together, these two species comprise the only

extant Extant or Least-concern species, least concern is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Exta ...

members of the family

, sometimes referred to as the "white whales". Monodontids are distinguished by their pronounced

s (acoustic sensory organs), short

snout A snout is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw. In many animals, the structure is called a muzzle, Rostrum (anatomy), rostrum, beak or proboscis. The wet furless surface around the nostrils of the n ...

s and the absence of a true

. Although the narwhal and beluga are classified as separate genera, there is some evidence of

interbreeding In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different varieties, subspecies, species or genera through sexual reproduction. Generally, it means that each cell has genetic material from two di ...

between the two. Most prominent are the remains of a whale, described by marine zoologists as unlike any known species, which were found in West Greenland around 1990. It had features midway between a narwhal and a beluga, indicating that the remains belonged to a

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...

between the two species (a ' narluga'); this was confirmed by a 2019

DNA analysis Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

. Whether the hybrid itself could breed remains unknown.

Evolution

Results of a genetic study reveal that

porpoise Porpoises () are small Oceanic dolphin, dolphin-like cetaceans classified under the family Phocoenidae. Although similar in appearance to dolphins, they are more closely related to narwhals and Beluga whale, belugas than to the Oceanic dolphi ...

s and monodontids are closely related, forming a separate

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

which diverged from other

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

s about 11

million years ago Million years ago, abbreviated as Mya, Myr (megayear) or Ma (megaannum), is a unit of time equal to (i.e. years), or approximately 31.6 teraseconds. Usage Myr is in common use in fields such as Earth science and cosmology. Myr is also used w ...

(mya). A 2018 molecular analysis of monodontid fossils indicates that they separated from Phocoenidae (porpoises) around 10.82 to 20.12 mya, and they are considered to be

sister taxa In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

. A later phylogenetic study conducted in 2020 suggested that the narwhal split from the beluga whale around 4.98 mya, based on data from

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...

. The fossil species '' Casatia thermophila'' of

early Pliocene Early may refer to: Places in the United States * Early, Iowa, a city * Early, Texas, a city * Early Branch, a stream in Missouri * Early County, Georgia * Fort Early, Georgia, an early 19th century fort Music * Early B, stage name of Jamaican d ...

central

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

was described as a possible narwhal ancestor when it was discovered in 2019. ''

Bohaskaia ''Bohaskaia'' is an extinct genus of beluga-like odontocete cetacean known from the Early Pliocene of Virginia and North Carolina, United States. It was first named by Jorge Vélez-Juarbe and Nicholas D. Pyenson in 2012 and the type species ...

'', ''

Denebola Denebola is the second-brightest individual star in the zodiac constellation of Leo.The two components of the γ Leonis double star, which are unresolved to the naked eye, have a combined magnitude brighter than it. It is the eastern ...

'' and ''

Haborodelphis ''Haborodelphis'' is an extinct genus of Monodontidae, beluga-like odontocete cetacean known from the Early Pliocene from the north-west Pacific. It was first named by Hiroto Ichishima and colleagues in 2018 in paleontology, 2018 and the type spe ...

'' are other extinct genera known from the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58 Fossil evidence shows that prehistoric monodontids lived in tropical waters. They may have migrated to Arctic and subarctic waters in response to changes in the marine food chain. The following

phylogenetic tree A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA. In ...

is based on a 2019 study of the family Monodontidae.

Description

The narwhal has a robust body with a short, blunt snout, small upcurved flippers, and convex to concave tail flukes. Adults measure in length and weigh . Male narwhals attain

sexual maturity Sexual maturity is the capability of an organism to reproduce. In humans, it is related to both puberty and adulthood. ''Puberty'' is the biological process of sexual maturation, while ''adulthood'', the condition of being socially recognized ...

at 12 to 20 years of age, reaching a length of . Females reach sexual maturity at a younger age, between 8 and 9 years old, when they are about long. On average, males are about longer and more than 75% heavier than females. The colouration of the narwhal consists of a mottled pattern, with blackish-brown markings over a white background. At birth, the skin is light grey, and when sexually mature, white patches grow on the

navel The navel (clinically known as the umbilicus; : umbilici or umbilicuses; also known as the belly button or tummy button) is a protruding, flat, or hollowed area on the abdomen at the attachment site of the umbilical cord. Structure The u ...

and

genital slit A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti ( toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pon ...

; such whitening occurs throughout life, resulting in aged narwhals being almost purely white. Unlike most whales, the narwhal has a shallow dorsal ridge, rather than a dorsal fin, possibly an

evolutionary adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...

to make swimming under ice easier or to facilitate rolling. The neck

vertebrae Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spinal ...

are also jointed, instead of being fused as in most whales, which allows for a greater range of neck flexibility. These characteristics are shared by the beluga whale. Furthermore, male and female narwhals have differently shaped tail flukes; the former are bent inward, while the latter are swept back on the front margins. This is thought to be an adaptation for reducing drag caused by the tusk. The

skeletal muscle Skeletal muscle (commonly referred to as muscle) is one of the three types of vertebrate muscle tissue, the others being cardiac muscle and smooth muscle. They are part of the somatic nervous system, voluntary muscular system and typically are a ...

s of narwhals are highly adapted for prolonged periods of deep-sea foraging. During such activities, oxygen is reserved in the muscles, which are typically slow-twitch, enabling greater endurance and manouverability. Narwhals also have a comparatively high amount of

myoglobin Myoglobin (symbol Mb or MB) is an iron- and oxygen-binding protein found in the cardiac and skeletal muscle, skeletal Muscle, muscle tissue of vertebrates in general and in almost all mammals. Myoglobin is distantly related to hemoglobin. Compar ...

in their body, which helps to facilitate deeper dives. It has a dense layer of

blubber Blubber is a thick layer of Blood vessel, vascularized adipose tissue under the skin of all cetaceans, pinnipeds, penguins, and sirenians. It was present in many marine reptiles, such as Ichthyosauria, ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. Description ...

, around thick. This fat accounts for a third of the body mass and helps insulate from cold ocean temperatures.

Tusk and dentition

The most conspicuous trait of male narwhals is a long, spiralled tusk, which is a

canine tooth In mammalian oral anatomy, the canine teeth, also called cuspids, dogteeth, eye teeth, vampire teeth, or fangs, are the relatively long, pointed teeth. In the context of the upper jaw, they are also known as '' fangs''. They can appear more f ...

that projects from the left side of the upper jaw. Both sexes have a pair of tusks embedded in the upper jaw, which in males erupt from the lip somewhere between two and three years of age. The tusk grows throughout the animal's life, reaching lengths of . It is hollow and weighs up to . Some males may grow two tusks, occurring when the right canine also protrudes through the lip. Females rarely grow tusks: when they do, the tusks are typically smaller than those of males, with less noticeable spirals. Current

scientific consensus Scientific consensus is the generally held judgment, position, and opinion of the majority or the supermajority of scientists in a particular field of study at any particular time. Consensus is achieved through scholarly communication at confer ...

indicates that narwhal tusks are

secondary sexual characteristics A secondary sex characteristic is a physical characteristic of an organism that is related to or derived from its sex, but not directly part of its reproductive system. In humans, these characteristics typically start to appear during puberty ...

which indicate social status. Further functions of the narwhal tusk are debated: while some biologists suggest that narwhals use their tusks in fights, others argue that they may be of use in feeding. The tusk is also a highly

innervate A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons). Nerves have historically been considered the basic units of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the electrochemical nerve impulses called ...

sensory organ A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the surroundings through the detection of stimuli. Although, in some cultures, five human senses were traditionally identified as su ...

with millions of

nerve ending A free nerve ending (FNE) or bare nerve ending, is an unspecialized, afferent nerve fiber sending its signal to a sensory neuron. ''Afferent'' in this case means bringing information from the body's periphery toward the brain. They function as ...

s, allowing the narwhal to sense temperature variability in its surroundings. These nerves may also be able to detect changes in particle concentration and water pressure. According to Martin Nweeia, male narwhals may rid themselves of encrustations on their tusks by rubbing them together, as opposed to posturing displays of aggressive male-to-male rivalry.

Drone Drone or The Drones may refer to: Science and technology Vehicle * Drone, a type of uncrewed vehicle, a class of robot ** Unmanned aerial vehicle or aerial drone *** Unmanned combat aerial vehicle ** Unmanned ground vehicle or ground drone ** Unma ...

footage from August 2016 in Tremblay Sound,

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

, revealed that narwhals used their tusks to tap and

stun STUN (Session Traversal Utilities for NAT; originally Simple Traversal of User Datagram Protocol (UDP) through Network Address Translators) is a standardized set of methods, including a network protocol, for traversal of network address transl ...

small

, making them easier to catch for feeding. Females, who usually do not have tusks, live longer than males, hence the tusk cannot be essential to the animal's survival. It is generally accepted that the primary function of the narwhal tusk is associated with

sexual selection Sexual selection is a mechanism of evolution in which members of one sex mate choice, choose mates of the other sex to mating, mate with (intersexual selection), and compete with members of the same sex for access to members of the opposite sex ...

. Alongside its tusk, the narwhal has a single pair of small

vestigial Vestigiality is the retention, during the process of evolution, of genetically determined structures or attributes that have lost some or all of the ancestral function in a given species. Assessment of the vestigiality must generally rely on co ...

teeth that reside in open

tooth socket Dental alveoli (singular ''alveolus'') are sockets in the jaws in which the roots of teeth are held in the alveolar process with the periodontal ligament. The lay term for dental alveoli is tooth sockets. A joint that connects the roots of the t ...

s in the upper jaw. These teeth, which differ in form and composition, encircle the exposed tooth sockets laterally, posteriorly, and ventrally. Vestigial teeth in male narwhals are commonly shed in the

palate The palate () is the roof of the mouth in humans and other mammals. It separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity. A similar structure is found in crocodilians, but in most other tetrapods, the oral and nasal cavities are not truly sep ...

. The varied morphology and anatomy of small teeth indicate a path of evolutionary obsolescence.

Distribution

The narwhal is found in the Atlantic and Russian areas of the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...

. Individuals are commonly recorded in the

Canadian Arctic Archipelago The Arctic Archipelago, also known as the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, is an archipelago lying to the north of the Canadian continental mainland, excluding Greenland (an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, which is, by itself, much larger ...

, such as in the northern part of

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...

, in

Hudson Strait Hudson Strait () in Nunavut links the Atlantic Ocean and the Labrador Sea to Hudson Bay in Canada. This strait lies between Baffin Island and Nunavik, with its eastern entrance marked by Cape Chidley in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nunavut ...

, in

Baffin Bay Baffin Bay (Inuktitut: ''Saknirutiak Imanga''; ; ; ), located between Baffin Island and the west coast of Greenland, is defined by the International Hydrographic Organization as a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is sometimes considered a s ...

, off the east coast of Greenland and in a strip running east from the northern end of Greenland to eastern Russia ( 170° east). Land in this strip includes

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...

Franz Joseph Land Franz Josef Land () is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It is inhabited only by military personnel. It constitutes the northernmost part of Arkhangelsk Oblast and consists of 192 islands, which cover an area of , stretching from east ...

and

Severnaya Zemlya Severnaya Zemlya (, ) is a archipelago in the Russian high Arctic. It lies off Siberia's Taymyr Peninsula, separated from the mainland by the Vilkitsky Strait. This archipelago separates two marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean, the Kara Sea i ...

. The northernmost sightings of narwhals occurred north of Franz Joseph Land, at about 85° north. There are an estimated 12,500 narwhals in the northern Hudson Bay, whereas around 140,000 reside in Baffin Bay.

Migration

Narwhals exhibit

seasonal migration Animal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of migration in ecology. It is found in all major animal groups, including birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, ...

, with a high fidelity of return to preferred ice-free summering grounds, usually in shallow waters. In summer months, they move closer to the coast, often in pods of 10–100 individuals. In the winter, they move to deeper waters offshore, under thick

, surfacing in narrow fissures or in wider fractures known as

leads Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

. As spring comes, these leads open up into channels and the narwhals return to the coastal

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

s. Narwhals in Baffin Bay typically travel to northern Canada and Greenland between June and September. After this period, they travel about south to the

Davis Strait The Davis Strait (Danish language, Danish: ''Davisstrædet'') is a southern arm of the Arctic Ocean that lies north of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. To the north is Baffin Bay. The ...

, and stay there until April. During winter, narwhals from Canada and West Greenland regularly visit the pack ice of the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay along the

continental slope A continental margin is the outer edge of continental crust abutting oceanic crust under coastal waters. It is one of the three major zones of the ocean floor, the other two being deep-ocean basins and mid-ocean ridges. The continental margi ...

which contains less than 5% open water and hosts a high density of

Behaviour and ecology

Narwhals normally congregate in groups of three to eight individuals. Groups may be "nurseries" with only females and young, or can contain only juveniles or adult males ("bulls"); mixed groups can occur at any time of year. In the summer, several groups come together, forming larger aggregations which can contain 500 to over 1,000 individuals. Male narwhals have been observed rubbing each other's tusks, a behaviour known as "tusking". When in their wintering waters, narwhals make some of the deepest dives recorded for cetaceans, diving to at least over 15 times per day, with many dives reaching . The greatest dive depth recorded is . Dives last up to 25 minutes, and vary in depth depending on the season and local variation between environments. For example, in the Baffin Bay wintering grounds, narwhals tend to dive deep within the steep coasts, typically south of Baffin Bay. This suggests differences in habitat structure, prey availability, or genetic adaptations between subpopulations. In the northern wintering grounds, narwhals do not dive as deep as the southern population, in spite of greater water depths in these areas. This is mainly attributed to prey being concentrated nearer to the surface, which causes narwhals to alter their foraging strategies.

Diet

Narwhals have a restricted and specialised diet. Due to the lack of well-developed

dentition Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiology ...

, narwhals are believed to feed by swimming close to prey and

sucking Suction is the day-to-day term for the movement of gases or liquids along a pressure gradient with the implication that the movement occurs because the lower pressure pulls the gas or liquid. However, the forces acting in this case do not orig ...

them into the mouth. A study of the stomach contents of 73 narwhals found Arctic cod (''

Boreogadus saida ''Boreogadus saida'', known as the polar cod or as the Arctic cod, is a fish of the cod family Gadidae, related to the true cod (genus ''Gadus''). Another fish species for which both the common names Arctic cod and polar cod are used is ''Arcto ...

'') to be the most commonly consumed prey, followed by Greenland halibut ('' Reinhardtius hippoglossoides''). Large quantities of Boreo-Atlantic armhook squid ('' Gonatus fabricii'') were also discovered. Male specimens had a higher likelihood of showing two additional prey species within their stomach contents: polar cod (''

Arctogadus glacialis ''Arctogadus glacialis'', known also with ambiguous common names Arctic cod and polar cod, is an Arctic species of fish in the cod family Gadidae, related to the true cod (genus ''Gadus''). ''Arctogadus glacialis'' is found in icy water. They gr ...

'') and redfish ('' Sebastes marinus''), both of which are found at depths of more than . The study also concluded that the size of prey did not differ between genders or age groups. Other items found within narwhal stomach contents include

wolffish Anarhichadidae, the wolffishes, sea wolves or wolf eels, is a family of marine ray finned fishes belonging to the order Perciformes. These are predatory, eel shaped fishes which are native to the cold waters of the Arctic, North Pacific and Nor ...

capelin The capelin or caplin (''Mallotus villosus'') is a small forage fish of the smelt family found in the North Atlantic, North Pacific and Arctic oceans. In summer, it grazes on dense swarms of plankton at the edge of the ice shelf. Larger capel ...

skate Skate or Skates may refer to: Fish *Skate (fish), several genera of fish belonging to the family Rajidae * Pygmy skates, several genera of fish belonging to the family Gurgesiellidae * Smooth skates or leg skates, several genera of fish belongin ...

eggs and sometimes rocks. Narwhal diet varies between seasons. In winter, narwhals feed on

demersal The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer o ...

prey, mostly

flatfish A flatfish is a member of the Ray-finned fish, ray-finned demersal fish Order (biology), suborder Pleuronectoidei, also called the Heterosomata. In many species, both eyes lie on one side of the head, one or the other migrating through or around ...

, under dense pack ice. During the summer, they eat mostly Arctic cod and Greenland halibut, with other fish such as polar cod making up the remainder of their diet. Narwhals consume more food in the winter months than they do in summer.

Breeding

Most female narwhals reproduce by the time they are six to eight years old.

Courtship Courtship is the period wherein some couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage or committed romantic, ''de facto'' relationship. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marri ...

and

mating In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite-sex or hermaphroditic organisms for the purposes of sexual reproduction. ''Fertilization'' is the fusion of two gametes. '' Copulation'' is the union of the sex organs of two sexually repr ...

behaviour for the species has been recorded from March to May, when they live among offshore pack ice, and is thought to involve a dominant male mating with several partners. The average

gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregn ...

period lasts 15 months, and births appear to be most frequent between July and August. Female narwhals have a birth interval of around 2–3 years. As with most marine mammals, only a single calf is born, averaging in length with white or light grey pigmentation. Summer population surveys along different coastal inlets of

Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada, the second-largest island in the Americas (behind Greenland), and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is (slightly smal ...

found that calf numbers varied from 0.05% of 35,000 in

Admiralty Inlet Admiralty Inlet is a strait in the U.S. state of Washington connecting the eastern end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Puget Sound. It lies between Whidbey Island and the northeastern part of the Olympic Peninsula. Boundaries It is generall ...

, to 5% of 10,000 total in Eclipse Sound. These findings suggest that higher calf counts may reflect calving and nursery habitats in favourable inlets. Newborn calves begin their lives with a thin layer of blubber. The blubber thickens as they

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

their mother's milk, which is rich in fat; calves are dependent on milk for about 20 months. This long lactation period gives calves time to learn the skills they will need to survive as they mature. Narwhals are among the few animals that undergo

menopause Menopause, also known as the climacteric, is the time when Menstruation, menstrual periods permanently stop, marking the end of the Human reproduction, reproductive stage for the female human. It typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 5 ...

and live for decades after they have finished breeding. Females in this phase may continue to protect calves in the pod. A 2024 study concluded that five species of

evolved menopause to acquire higher overall longevity, although their reproductive periods did not change. To explain this, scientists hypothesised that calves of these species require the assistance of (post-)menopausal females for an enhanced chance at survival, as they are extremely difficult for a single female to successfully rear.

Communication

Like most toothed whales, narwhals use sound to navigate and hunt for food. They primarily vocalise through clicks, whistles and knocks, created by air movement between chambers near the blowhole. The frequency of these sounds ranges from 0.3 to 125

hertz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or Cycle per second, cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in ter ...

, while those used for echolocation typically fall between 19 and 48 hertz. Sounds are reflected off the sloping front of the skull and focused by the animal's

: a mass of fat which can be controlled through surrounding musculature. Echolocation clicks are used for detecting prey and locating barriers at short distances. Whistles and throbs are most commonly used to communicate with other pod members. Calls recorded from the same pod are more similar than calls from different pods, suggesting the possibility of group- or individual-specific calls. Narwhals sometimes adjust the duration and pitch of their pulsed calls to maximise sound propagation in varying acoustic environments. Other sounds produced by narwhals include trumpeting and "squeaking-door sounds". The narwhal vocal repertoire is similar to that of the beluga whale. However, the frequency ranges, durations, and repetition rates of narwhal clicks differ from those of belugas.

Longevity and mortality factors

Age determination techniques using the number of

periosteum The periosteum is a membrane that covers the outer surface of all bones, except at the articular surfaces (i.e. the parts within a joint space) of long bones. (At the joints of long bones the bone's outer surface is lined with "articular cartila ...

layers in the

lower jaw In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone i ...

reveal that narwhals live an average of 50 years, though techniques using amino acid dating from the

lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...

of the eyes suggest that female narwhals can reach 115±10 years and male narwhals can live to 84±9 years. Death by

suffocation Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects all the tissues and organs, some more rapidly than others. There are m ...

often occurs when narwhals fail to migrate before the Arctic freezes over in late autumn. This is known as "sea-ice entrapment". Narwhals drown if open water is no longer accessible and ice is too thick for them to break through. Breathing holes in ice may be up to apart, which limits the use of foraging grounds. These holes must be at least wide to allow an adult whale to breathe. Narwhals also die of

starvation Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, de ...

from entrapment events. In 19141915, around 1,000 narwhal carcasses were discovered after entrapment events, most occurring in areas such as

Disko Bay Disko Bay (; Christensen, N.O. & al.Elections in Greenland". ''Arctic Circular'', Vol. 4 (1951), pp. 83–85. Op. cit. "Northern News". ''Arctic'', Vol. 5, No. 1 (Mar 1952), pp. 58–59.) is a large bay on the western coast of Greenland. ...

West Greenland Kitaa, originally Vestgrønland ("West Greenland"), is a former administrative division of Greenland. It was by far the most populated of the divisions, being home to almost 90% of the total population. The divisions were de facto replaced by s ...

. Several cases of sea entrapment were recorded in 2008–2010, during the Arctic winter, including in some places where such events had never been recorded before. This suggests later departure dates from summering grounds. Wind and currents move sea ice from adjacent locations to Greenland, leading to fluctuations in concentration. Due to their tendency of returning to the same areas, changes in weather and ice conditions are not always associated with narwhal movement toward open water. It is currently unclear to what extent sea ice changes pose a danger to narwhals. Narwhals are preyed upon by

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...

s and

orca The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopol ...

s. In some instances, the former have been recorded waiting at breathing holes for young narwhals, while the latter were observed surrounding and killing entire narwhal pods. To escape predators such as orcas, narwhals may use prolonged submersion to hide under

ice floe An ice floe () is a segment of floating ice defined as a flat piece at least across at its widest point, and up to more than across. Drift ice is a floating field of sea ice composed of several ice floes. They may cause ice jams on freshwate ...

s rather than relying on speed. Researchers found bacteria of the ''

Brucella ''Brucella'' is a genus of Gram-negative bacterium, bacteria, named after David Bruce (microbiologist), David Bruce (1855–1931). They are small (0.5 to 0.7 by 0.6 to 1.5 μm), non-Bacterial capsule, encapsulated, non-motile, facultatively ...

'' genus in the bloodstreams of numerous narwhals throughout the course of a 19-year study. They were also recorded with whale lice species such as '' Cyamus monodontis'' and '' Cyamus nodosus''. Other

pathogen In biology, a pathogen (, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of"), in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a Germ theory of d ...

s that affect narwhals include ''

Toxoplasma gondii ''Toxoplasma gondii'' () is a species of parasitic alveolate that causes toxoplasmosis. Found worldwide, ''T. gondii'' is capable of infecting virtually all warm-blooded animals, but members of the cat family (felidae) are the only known d ...

'',

morbillivirus ''Morbillivirus'' is a genus of viruses in the order '' Mononegavirales'', in the family ''Paramyxoviridae''. Humans, dogs, cats, cattle, seals, and cetaceans serve as natural hosts. This genus contains 10 species, one of which is extinct. Disea ...

, and

papillomavirus ''Papillomaviridae'' is a family of non- enveloped double-stranded DNA viruses whose members are known as papillomaviruses. Several hundred species of papillomaviruses, traditionally referred to as "types", have been identified infecting all car ...

. In 2018, a female narwhal was recorded with an

alphaherpesvirus ''Orthoherpesviridae'', previously named and more widely known as ''Herpesviridae'', is a large family (biology), family of DNA viruses that cause infections and certain diseases in animals, including humans. The members of this family are commo ...

in her system.

Conservation

The narwhal is listed as a species of

by the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

. As of 2017, the global population is estimated to be 123,000 mature individuals out of a total of 170,000. There were about 12,000 narwhals in Northern Hudson Bay in 2011, and around 49,000 near Somerset Island in 2013. There are approximately 35,000 in

, 10,000 in Eclipse Sound, 17,000 in Eastern Baffin Bay, and 12,000 in

Jones Sound Jones Sound is a waterway in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. It lies between Devon Island and the southern end of Ellesmere Island. At its northwestern end it is linked by several channels to Norwegian Bay; at its eastern end it opens via Glacie ...

. Population numbers in

Smith Sound Smith Sound (; ) is an Arctic sea passage between Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are ...

, Inglefield Bredning and

Melville Bay Melville Bay (; ), is a large bay off the coast of northwestern Greenland. Located to the north of the Upernavik Archipelago, it opens to the south-west into Baffin Bay. Its Kalaallisut name, ''Qimusseriarsuaq'', means "the great dog sledding pla ...

are 16,000, 8,000 and 3,000, respectively. There are roughly 800 narwhals in the waters off Svalbard. In the 1972

Marine Mammal Protection Act The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) was the first act of the United States Congress to call specifically for an ecosystem approach to wildlife management. Authority MMPA was signed into law on October 21, 1972, by President Richard Nixon ...

, the United States banned imports of products made from narwhal parts. They are listed on Appendix II of the

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CITES (shorter acronym for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of inte ...

(CITES) and

Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, also known as the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) or the Bonn Convention, is an international agreement that aims to conserve migratory species throughout their r ...

(CMS). These committees restrict international trading of live animals and their body parts, as well as implementing sustainable action plans. The species is classified as special concern under the

Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC, French: Comité sur la situation des espèces en péril au Canada, COSEPAC) is an independent committee of wildlife experts and scientists whose "raison d'être is to identify s ...

(COSEWIC), which aims to classify the risk levels of species in the country. In 2025 the United Kingdom protected narwhals under the Ivory Act, which forbids trade in teeth and tusks except for "artistic and cultural artifacts."

Threats

Narwhals are hunted for their skin,

, teeth, tusks and carved vertebrae, which are commercially traded. About 1,000 narwhals are killed per year: 600 in Canada and 400 in Greenland. Canadian catches were steady at this level in the 1970s, dropped to 300–400 per year in the late 1980s and 1990s and have risen again since 1999. Greenland caught more, 700–900 per year, in the 1980s and 1990s. In Canada and Greenland, Narwhal tusks are sold both carved and uncarved. Per hunted narwhal, an average of one to two vertebrae and teeth are sold. In Greenland, the skin () is sold commercially to fish factories, and in Canada to other communities. Based on an analysis of 2007 narwhal hunts in Hudson Bay, a 2013 paper estimated that gross revenue per narwhal was (US$). Hunts receive

subsidies A subsidy, subvention or government incentive is a type of government expenditure for individuals and households, as well as businesses with the aim of stabilizing the economy. It ensures that individuals and households are viable by having acce ...

, but they continue mainly to support tradition, rather than for profit. Economic analysis noted that

whale watching Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins (cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. ...

may be an alternate source of revenue. As narwhals grow,

bioaccumulation Bioaccumulation is the gradual accumulation of substances, such as pesticides or other chemicals, in an organism. Bioaccumulation occurs when an organism absorbs a substance faster than it can be lost or eliminated by catabolism and excretion. T ...

of heavy metals takes place within their bodies. It is thought that pollution in the ocean is the primary cause of bioaccumulation in marine mammals; this may lead to health problems for the narwhal population. When bioaccumulating, numerous metals appear in the blubber, liver, kidney and musculature. A study found that the blubber was nearly devoid of these metals, whereas the liver and kidneys had a dense concentration of them. Relative to the liver, the kidney has a greater concentration of

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

and

cadmium Cadmium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12 element, group 12, zinc and mercury (element), mercury. Like z ...

, while

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

and mercury were not nearly as abundant. Individuals of different weight and sex showed differences in the concentration of metals in their organs. Narwhals are one of the Arctic marine mammals most vulnerable to

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

due to sea ice decline, especially in their northern wintering grounds such as the Baffin Bay and Davis Strait regions. Satellite data collected from these areas shows the amount of sea ice has been markedly reduced from what it was previously. It is thought that narwhals' foraging ranges reflect patterns they acquired early in life, which improves their capacity to obtain the food supplies they need for the winter. This strategy focuses on strong

site fidelity Philopatry is the tendency of an organism to stay in or habitually return to a particular area. The causes of philopatry are numerous, but natal philopatry, where animals return to their birthplace to breed, may be the most common. The term derives ...

rather than individual-level responses to local prey distribution, resulting in focal foraging areas during the winter. As such, despite changing conditions, narwhals will continue to return to the same areas during migration. Reduction in sea ice has possibly led to an increased exposure to predation. In 2002, hunters in

Siorapaluk Siorapaluk ( West Greenlandic) or Hiurapaluk ( Polar Inuit) is a settlement in the Qaanaaq area of the Avannaata municipality in northern Greenland. The settlement is located in the northern shore of the Siorapaluup Kangerlua (Robertson Fjord ...

experienced an increase in the number of caught narwhals, but this increase did not seem to be linked to enhanced endeavour, implying that climate change may be making the narwhal more vulnerable to hunting. Scientists recommend assessing population numbers, assigning sustainable

quotas Quota may refer to: Economics * Import quota, a restriction on the quantity of goods that can be imported into a country * Market Sharing Quota, an economic system used in Canadian agriculture * Milk quota, a quota on milk production in Europe * ...

, and ensuring local acceptance of sustainable development.

Seismic survey Reflection seismology (or seismic reflection) is a method of exploration geophysics that uses the principles of seismology to estimate the properties of the Earth's subsurface from reflected seismic waves. The method requires a controlled seismi ...

s associated with

oil exploration Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth's crust using petroleum geology. Exploration methods V ...

disrupt the narwhal's normal migration patterns. These disturbed migrations may also be associated with increased sea ice entrapment.

Relationship with humans

Narwhals have coexisted alongside

circumpolar peoples Circumpolar peoples and Arctic peoples are umbrella terms for the various indigenous peoples of the Arctic region. Approximately four million people are resident in the Arctic, among which 10 percent are indigenous peoples belonging to a vast nu ...

for millennia. Their long, distinctive tusks were often held with fascination throughout human history. These tusks were prized for their supposed healing powers, and were worn on staffs and thrones. Depictions of narwhals in paintings such as ''

The Lady and the Unicorn ''The Lady and the Unicorn'' () is the modern title given to a series of six tapestries created in the style of ("thousand flowers") and woven in Flanders from wool and silk, from designs (" cartoons") drawn in Paris around 1500. The set is o ...

'' have found a prevalent place in human arts.

Inuit

Narwhals have been hunted by

to the same extent as other sea mammals, such as

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

and

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...

s. Almost all parts of the narwhalthe meat, skin, blubber and organsare consumed. , the raw skin and attached blubber, is considered a delicacy. As a custom, one or two vertebrae per animal are used for tools and

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

. The skin is an important source of

vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits, berries and vegetables. It is also a generic prescription medication and in some countries is sold as a non-prescription di ...

, which is otherwise difficult to obtain in the Arctic Circle. In some places in Greenland, such as

Qaanaaq Qaanaaq (), formerly known as New Thule, is the main town in the northern part of the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. The town has a population of 646 as of 2020. The population was forcibly relocated from its former, traditiona ...

, traditional hunting methods are used and whales are

harpoon A harpoon is a long, spear-like projectile used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other hunting to shoot, kill, and capture large fish or marine mammals such as seals, sea cows, and whales. It impales the target and secures it with barb or ...

ed from handmade

kayaks ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

. In other parts of Greenland and Northern Canada, motorboat, high-speed boats and

hunting rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles ar ...

s are used. In Inuit legend, the narwhal's tusk was created when a woman with harpoon rope tied around her waist was dragged into the ocean after the harpoon had stuck into a large narwhal. She was then transformed into a narwhal; her hair, which she was wearing in a twisted knot, became the spiralling narwhal tusk.

Tusk trade

In Europe, narwhal tusks were highly sought-after for centuries. This stems from a medieval belief that narwhal tusks were the

horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (anatomy) * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * Horns (novel), ''Horns'' (novel), a dar ...

of the legendary

unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unico ...

. Considered to have magical properties, narwhal tusks were used to counter poisoning, and all sorts of diseases such as

measles Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German ''masel(e)'', meaning "blemish, blood blister") is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by Measles morbillivirus, measles v ...

and

rubella Rubella, also known as German measles or three-day measles, is an infection caused by the rubella virus. This disease is often mild, with half of people not realizing that they are infected. A rash may start around two weeks after exposure and ...

. The rise of modern science towards the end of the 17th century led to a decreased belief in

magic Magic or magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces ** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic * Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...

and

alchemy Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

. After the unicorn notion was scientifically refuted, narwhal tusks were rarely employed for magical purposes. According to some theories,

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

and

Greenland Norse Greenlandic Norse is an extinct North Germanic language that was spoken in the Norse settlements of Greenland until their demise in the late 15th century. The language is primarily attested by runic inscriptions found in Greenland. The limited ...

began trade of narwhal tusks, which, via European channels, would later reach markets in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

. The idea that

Norsemen The Norsemen (or Northmen) were a cultural group in the Early Middle Ages, originating among speakers of Old Norse in Scandinavia. During the late eighth century, Scandinavians embarked on a Viking expansion, large-scale expansion in all direc ...

hunted narwhals was once held, but was never confirmed and is now considered improbable. Narwhal tusks were given as state gifts to kings and queens throughout medieval Europe, with the price of narwhal tusks said to have been a couple of hundred times greater than their weight in

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow, Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar of all Russia, Tsar and Grand Prince of all R ...

had a jewellery-covered narwhal tusk on his deathbed, while

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

received a narwhal tusk allegedly valued at £10,000

pounds sterling Sterling (Currency symbol, symbol: Pound sign, £; ISO 4217, currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of account, unit of sterling, and the word ''Pound (cu ...

from the

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

Martin Frobisher Sir Martin Frobisher (; – 22 November 1594) was an English sailor and privateer who made three voyages to the New World looking for the North-west Passage. He probably sighted Resolution Island near Labrador in north-eastern Canada, before ...

. Both items were staples in

cabinets of curiosities Cabinets of curiosities ( and ), also known as wonder-rooms ( ), were encyclopedic collections of objects whose categorical boundaries were, in Renaissance Europe, yet to be defined. Although more rudimentary collections had preceded them, t ...