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

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

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

native to the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada ( Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm ( Greenland), Finland, Iceland ...

. It is the only member of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

''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 Arct ...

''. The narwhal has a similar build to the closely related

beluga whale The beluga whale () (''Delphinapterus leucas'') is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus ''Delphinapterus''. It is also known as the whi ...

, with which it overlaps in range and can

interbreed In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different breeds, varieties, species or genera through sexual reproduction. Hybrids are not always intermediates between their parents (such as in ...

. It is a stocky cetacean, with a relatively blunt snout and large

melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a " pepo". The ...

. 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 teeth, as with pigs and walruses, or, in the case of elephants, elongated incisors. Tusks share ...

, which is a left protruded

canine Canine may refer to: Zoology and anatomy * a dog-like Canid animal in the subfamily Caninae ** '' Canis'', a genus including dogs, wolves, coyotes, and jackals ** Dog, the domestic dog * Canine tooth, in mammalian oral anatomy People with the ...

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

slow-twitch muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of muscle ...

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 inhabits the Arctic waters of Canada, Greenland and Russia. Every year, it migrates to ice-free summering grounds, usually in shallow waters, and often

returns 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 o ...

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

polar Polar may refer to: Geography Polar may refer to: * Geographical pole, either of two fixed points on the surface of a rotating body or planet, at 90 degrees from the equator, based on the axis around which a body rotates *Polar climate, the cli ...

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 Gadidae, related to the true cod (genus ''Gadus''). ''Arctogadus glacialis'' is found in icy water. They ...

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

cuttlefish Cuttlefish or cuttles are marine molluscs of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses. Cuttlefish have a unique internal shell, the cuttlebone, which is used for control ...

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

, 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 ...

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

cetacean Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel them ...

s. It travels in groups of three to eight, with aggregations of up to 1,000 occurring in the summer months. It mates in the offshore

pack ice Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object (shoals, grounded icebergs, etc.).Leppäranta, M. 2011. The Drift of Sea Ice. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Unlike fast ice, which is "fastene ...

from March to May, and the young are born in July or August of the following year. When communicating, a variety of clicks, whistles and knocks are used. 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 categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. Th ...

by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natur ...

(IUCN). The population is threatened by the

effects of climate change The effects of climate change impact the physical environment, ecosystems and human societies. The environmental effects of climate change are broad and far-reaching. They affect the water cycle, oceans, sea and land ice ( glaciers), sea l ...

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

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

and

hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/ tusks, horn/ a ...

. The narwhal has been hunted for thousands of years by

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, ...

in northern Canada and Greenland for meat and

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and 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 mammals ...

, and regulated subsistence hunts continue.

Taxonomy

The narwhal was scientifically described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...

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

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is 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 of Scandinavia and t ...

, 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

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: 'single-tooth single-horn'. The narwhal is most closely related to the

(''Delphinapterus leucas''). Together, these two species comprise the only

extant Extant 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 * Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extinct, ...

members of the family ''

'', sometimes referred to as the "white whales". The ''Monodontidae'' 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, or proboscis. The wet furless surface around the nostrils of the nose of many mammals is ...

s and the absence of a true

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

. Although the narwhal and beluga are classified as separate genera, there is some evidence that they may, very rarely,

. The remains of an abnormal-looking whale, described by marine zoologists as unlike any known species, were found in West Greenland around 1990. It had features midway between a narwhal and a beluga, indicating that the remains belonged to a

narluga A narluga ( portmanteau of narwhal and beluga) is a hybrid born from mating a female narwhal and a male beluga whale. Narwhals and beluga whales are both cetaceans found in the High Arctic and are the only two living members of the family Mono ...

(a hybrid between the two species); 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 could breed remains unknown.

Evolution

Results of a genetic study reveal that

porpoise Porpoises are a group of fully aquatic marine mammals, all of which are classified under the family Phocoenidae, parvorder Odontoceti (toothed whales). Although similar in appearance to dolphins, they are more closely related to narwhals ...

s and white whales are closely related, forming a separate clade which diverged from

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (t ...

s about 11 million years ago. A 2018 molecular analysis of ''Monodontidae'' fossils indicates that they had separated from ''Phocoenidae'' around 10.82 to 20.12 mya; they are considered to be a

sister taxon 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 2020 phylogenetic study based on mitochondrial DNA suggested that, around 4.98

million years ago The abbreviation Myr, "million years", is a unit of a quantity of (i.e. ) years, or 31.556926 teraseconds. Usage Myr (million years) is in common use in fields such as Earth science and cosmology. Myr is also used with Mya (million years ago). ...

(mya), the narwhal split from the beluga whale. The fossil species ''

Casatia thermophila ''Casatia'' is a genus of extinct cetacean from the Early Pliocene, approximately between 5.1 and 4.5 million years ago. The genus contains a single species, ''C. thermophila''. It was described from a partial skull. Its closest relatives are the ...

'' of

early Pliocene Early may refer to: History * The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.: ** Early Christianity ** Early modern Europe Places in the United States * Early, Iowa * Early, Texas * Early ...

central Italy 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 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 has the Bayer designatio ...

'' and '' Haborodelphis'' were other extinct genera known during the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58 Fossil evidence shows that ancient white whales 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 is based on a 2019 study of the family ''Monodontidae''.

Description

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

sexual maturity Sexual maturity is the capability of an organism to reproduce. In humans it might be considered synonymous with adulthood, but here puberty is the name for the process of biological sexual maturation, while adulthood is based on cultural definit ...

at 12 to 20 years of age, reaching a length of . Females become sexually mature 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

pigmentation A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compo ...

of the narwhal is 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, commonly 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. All placental mammals have a navel, altho ...

and

genital slit A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...

. This whitening occurs throughout life, resulting in aged narwhals that are almost pure white. Unlike most whales, the narwhal has a shallow dorsal ridge, rather than a dorsal fin. This is 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 po ...

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

vertebrae The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristi ...

are jointed, instead of being fused as in most whales; this allows a greater range of neck flexibility. These characteristics—a dorsal ridge and jointed neck vertebrae—are shared by the beluga whale. Male and female narwhals have different tail flukes; the former are bent inward, while the latter have a sweep-back on the front margins. This is thought to be an adaptation for reducing

drag Drag or The Drag may refer to: Places * Drag, Norway, a village in Tysfjord municipality, Nordland, Norway * ''Drág'', the Hungarian name for Dragu Commune in Sălaj County, Romania * Drag (Austin, Texas), the portion of Guadalupe Street adj ...

caused by the tusk. Compared with most marine mammals, the narwhal has a higher amount of

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

in its body, which facilitates deeper dives. It has a dense layer of

blubber Blubber is a thick layer of vascularized adipose tissue under the skin of all cetaceans, pinnipeds, penguins, and sirenians. Description Lipid-rich, collagen fiber-laced blubber comprises the hypodermis and covers the whole body, except ...

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

Skeletal muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of m ...

s in the narwhal are highly adapted for prolonged periods of deep-sea foraging. During such activities, oxygen is reserved in the muscles, which are typically slow-twitch, allowing for endurance and manoeuvrable motion.

Tusk

The most conspicuous characteristic of the male narwhal is a long, spiralled tusk, which is a

canine tooth In mammalian oral anatomy, the canine teeth, also called cuspids, dog teeth, or (in the context of the upper jaw) fangs, eye teeth, vampire teeth, or vampire fangs, are the relatively long, pointed teeth. They can appear more flattened however ...

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 erupts at two or three. 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. The function of the narwhal tusk is debated. Some biologists suggest that narwhals use their tusks in fights, while others argue that they may be of use in feeding. There is, however, a

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 co ...

that tusks are

secondary sexual characteristics Secondary sex characteristics are features that appear during puberty in humans, and at sexual maturity in other animals. These characteristics are particularly evident in the sexually dimorphic phenotypic traits that distinguish the sexes of a ...

which indicate social status. The tusk is also a highly

innervate A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons) in the peripheral nervous system. A nerve transmits electrical impulses. It is the basic unit of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the e ...

d sensory organ 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 cut ...

s that connect seawater stimuli to the brain, allowing the narwhal to sense temperature variability in its surroundings. These nerves may be able to pick up the slightest increase or decrease in the magnitude of particles and water pressure. According to Dr. 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 most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

footage from August 2016 in Tremblay Sound,

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...

, 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 mode of natural selection in which members of one biological sex choose mates of the other sex to mate with (intersexual selection), and compete with members of the same sex for access to members of the opposite sex (in ...

Vestigial teeth

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 s ...

. 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 major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the 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 Denmark). Situated in the northern extremity of No ...

, such as in the northern part of

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...

Hudson Strait Hudson Strait (french: Détroit d'Hudson) links the Atlantic Ocean and 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 an ...

Baffin Bay Baffin Bay (Inuktitut: ''Saknirutiak Imanga''; kl, Avannaata Imaa; french: Baie de Baffin), located between Baffin Island and the west coast of Greenland, is defined by the International Hydrographic Organization as a marginal sea of the Ar ...

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

Franz Joseph Land Franz Josef Land, Frantz Iosef Land, Franz Joseph Land or Francis Joseph's Land ( rus, Земля́ Фра́нца-Ио́сифа, r=Zemlya Frantsa-Iosifa, no, Fridtjof Nansen Land) is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It is inhabited on ...

and

Severnaya Zemlya Severnaya Zemlya (russian: link=no, Сéверная Земля́ (Northern Land), ) 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 ...

. The northernmost sightings of narwhals have occurred north of Franz Joseph Land, at about 85° north. There are an estimated 12,500 narwhals in 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 coasts, often in pods of 10–100. In the winter, they move to offshore, deeper waters under thick

, surfacing in narrow fissures or in wider fractures known as

leads Lead is a chemical element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead or The Lead may also refer to: Animal handling * Leash, or lead * Lead (leg), the leg that advances most in a quadruped's cantering or galloping stride * Lead (tack), a li ...

. 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, circular bay with a nar ...

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

Davis Strait Davis Strait is a northern arm of the Atlantic 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 strait was named for the English explorer Jo ...

, 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 marg ...

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

Behaviour and ecology

Narwhals normally congregate in groups of three to eight—and sometimes up to twenty—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, but can 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 precipitous 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-physiolog ...

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

sucking Suction is the colloquial term to describe the air pressure differential between areas. Removing air from a space results in a pressure differential. Suction pressure is therefore limited by external air pressure. Even a perfect vacuum cannot ...

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

''). Large quantities of Boreo-Atlantic armhook squid (''

Gonatus fabricii ''Gonatus fabricii'', the Boreo-atlantic Armhook Squid, is a squid in the family Gonatidae. It occurs in the northern Atlantic Ocean from Canada to the Barents Sea. Until 1981, the name ''G. fabricii'' was usually misapplied to the very similar ...

'') were discovered. Males were more likely than females to consume two additional prey species: 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. The ...

'') and redfish (''

Sebastes marinus ''Sebastes norvegicus'', the rose fish, ocean perch, Atlantic redfish, Norway haddock, golden redfish or pinkbelly rosefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae, the rockfishes, part of the family Scorp ...

''), both of which are found in depths of more than . The study also concluded that the size of prey did not differ among genders or ages. Other items found in stomachs have included

wolffish Anarhichadidae, the wolffishes, sea wolves or wolf eels, is a family of marine ray finned fishes belonging to the order Scorpaeniformes. These are predatory, eel shaped fishes which are native to the cold waters of the Arctic, North Pacific and ...

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 by season. 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 laye ...

prey, mostly

flatfish A flatfish is a member of the ray-finned demersal fish order Pleuronectiformes, also called the Heterosomata, sometimes classified as a suborder of Perciformes. In many species, both eyes lie on one side of the head, one or the other migratin ...

, 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. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marriage. A courtship may be an informal and private ...

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 rep ...

behaviour for the species has been recorded from March to May, when they are in 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 preg ...

lasts 15 months, and births appear to be most frequent between July and August. A female has a birth interval of around 2–3 years. As with most marine mammals, only a single young 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 and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadi ...

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 generally ...

, to 5% of 10,000 total in

Eclipse Sound Tasiujaq (Inuktitut syllabics: ᑕᓯᐅᔭᖅ) formerly Eclipse Sound is a natural waterway through the Arctic Archipelago within the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It separates Bylot Island (to the north) from Baffin Island (to the sout ...

. 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 profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

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 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 in women's lives when menstrual periods stop permanently, and they are no longer able to bear children. Menopause usually occurs between the age of 47 and 54. Medical professionals often d ...

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

Odontoceti The toothed whales (also called odontocetes, systematic name Odontoceti) are a parvorder of cetaceans that includes dolphins, porpoises, and all other whales possessing teeth, such as the beaked whales and sperm whales. Seventy-three species o ...

evolved menopause to acquire higher overall longevity, though their reproductive periods did not change. To explain this, scientists hypothesised that calves of the five Odontoceti species require the assistance of 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 Blowhole may refer to: * Blowhole (anatomy), the hole at the top of a whale's or other cetacean's head *Blowhole (geology), a hole at the inland end of a sea cave **Kiama Blowhole in Kiama, Australia **The Blow Hole, a marine passage between Minst ...

. 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), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one her ...

, 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 melon, 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

A polar bear (Ursus maritimus) scavenging a narwhal whale (Monodon monoceros) carcass - journal

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. Endosteum lines the inner surface of the medullary cavity of all long bones. Struc ...

layers in the

lower jaw In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movable bone ...

reveal that narwhals live an average of 50 years, though techniques using

amino acid dating Amino acid dating is a dating technique used to estimate the age of a specimen in paleobiology, molecular paleontology, archaeology, forensic science, taphonomy, sedimentary geology and other fields. This technique relates changes in amino ac ...

from the

lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which 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 primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can ...

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, dea ...

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 ( kl, Qeqertarsuup tunua; da, DiskobugtenChristensen, 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 ...

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 st ...

. 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 bears and

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

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 large pack of floating ice often defined as a flat piece at least 20 m across at its widest point, and up to more than 10 km across. Drift ice is a floating field of sea ice composed of several ice floes. They may cause ...

s rather than relying on speed. Researchers found ''

Brucella ''Brucella'' is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria, named after David Bruce (1855–1931). They are small (0.5 to 0.7 by 0.6 to 1.5 µm), non encapsulated, nonmotile, facultatively intracellular coccobacilli. ''Brucella'' spp. are the cause ...

'' in the bloodstreams of numerous narwhals throughout the course of a 19-year study. They were also recorded with

whale lice A whale louse is a commensal crustacean of the family Cyamidae. Despite the name, it is not a true louse (which are insects), but rather is related to the skeleton shrimp, most species of which are found in shallower waters. Whale lice are extern ...

species such as '' Cyamus monodontis'' and '' Cyamus nodosus''. Other

pathogen In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "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 ger ...

s include ''

Toxoplasma gondii ''Toxoplasma gondii'' () is an obligate intracellular parasitic protozoan (specifically an apicomplexan) that causes toxoplasmosis. Found worldwide, ''T. gondii'' is capable of infecting virtually all warm-blooded animals, but felids, such ...

'',

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 includes seven species. Diseases in humans associate ...

, and

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

. In 2018, a female narwhal had

alphaherpesvirus ''Herpesviridae'' is a large family of DNA viruses that cause infections and certain diseases in animals, including humans. The members of this family are also known as herpesviruses. The family name is derived from the Greek word ''ἕρπει� ...

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 the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

. 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 a total of 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 ( da, Smith Sund; french: Détroit de Smith) is an uninhabited Arctic sea passage between Greenland and Canada's northernmost island, Ellesmere Island. It links Baffin Bay with Kane Basin and forms part of the Nares Strait , othe ...

Inglefield Bredning Inglefield Gulf or Inglefield Fjord ( da, Inglefield Bredning; kl, Kangerlussuaq) is a fjord in northwestern Greenland. To the west, the fjord opens into the Baffin Bay. Administratively it belongs to the Avannaata municipality. Inglefield Gulf ...

and

Melville Bay Melville Bay ( kl, Qimusseriarsuaq; da, Melville Bugt), 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, ''Qimusseriarsu ...

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 name 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 interna ...

(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 ra ...

(CMS). These committees restrict international trading of live animals and their body parts, as well as implement 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.

Threats

Narwhals are hunted for their skin, meat, 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. Narwhal tusks are sold both carved and uncarved in Canada and Greenland. Per hunted narwhal, an average of one or two vertebrae and one or two 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 or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the ter ...

, 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. 20 ...

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 at a rate faster than that at which the substance is lost or eliminated ...

of heavy metals takes place. 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 with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc 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 t ...

and

cadmium Cadmium is a chemical element with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Like zinc, it demonstrates oxidation state +2 in most of ...

, while

lead Lead is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metals, heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale of mineral hardness#Intermediate ...

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) 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 ...

and

mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Mercur ...

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

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

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 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. It is one of the world's northernmost inhabited settlements, the northernmost settlement inhabite ...

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 trade restriction on the quantity of goods imported into a country * Market Sharing Quota, an economic system used in Canadian agriculture * Milk quota, a quota on milk production in Europe * Indi ...

, 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 seism ...

s associated with

oil exploration Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for deposits of hydrocarbons, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun ...

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. Prehistory The earliest inhabitants of North America's central and eastern Arctic are referred to as the Arctic small tool tradition (AST) ...

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'' (french: La Dame à la licorne) 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 ...

'' 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 ...

and

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

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 human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

. 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 and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) a ...

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

Qaanaaq Qaanaaq (), formerly known as Thule or New Thule, is the main town in the northern part of the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is one of the northernmost towns in the world. The inhabitants of Qaanaaq speak the local Inuk ...

, traditional hunting methods are used and whales are

harpoon A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument and tool used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other marine hunting to catch and injure large fish or marine mammals such as seals and whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal ...

ed from handmade

kayaks A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word '' qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each s ...

. In other parts of Greenland and Northern Canada,

high-speed boat High Speed or high-speed may refer to: Films * ''High Speed'' (1917 film), starring Jack Mulhall and Fritzi Ridgeway * ''High Speed'' (1920 film), an American drama directed by Charles Miller * ''High Speed'' (1924 film), featuring Herbert Ra ...

s and

hunting rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with b ...

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

The narwhal tusk has been highly sought-after in Europe for centuries. This stems from a medieval belief that narwhal tusks were the horns 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 unicor ...

. According to some theories,

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to 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 se ...

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 ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

and

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

. The idea that

Norsemen The Norsemen (or Norse people) were a North Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Early Middle Ages, during which they spoke the Old Norse language. The language belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages and is the ...

hunted narwhals was once held, but was never confirmed and is now considered improbable. Across medieval Europe, narwhal tusks were given as state gifts to kings and queens. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the price tag of tusks was said to be a couple of hundred times greater than its weight in

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Iv ...

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

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

received a narwhal tusk allegedly valued at £10,000

pounds sterling Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and th ...

from the

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare 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 or deleg ...

Martin Frobisher Sir Martin Frobisher (; c. 1535 – 22 November 1594) was an English seaman 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 Ca ...

; both items were staples in cabinets of curiosities. Considered to have magical properties, narwhal tusks were used to counter poisoning, and all sorts of diseases such as measles 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 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 * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

and

alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world ...

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