Narwhals (Unicorn of Sea)

Why in News?

Researchers from the Florida University, Canada’s Department of Fisheries & Oceans, in partnership with Inuit communities of Canada used drones to provide new insights into narwhal behaviour.

• It is a medium-sized odontocete or toothed whale.
• It is different from all other toothed whales in that it has no teeth in its mouth.
  • Scientific name - Monodon Monoceros (one tooth, one horn).
• Nativity – It is found only in Arctic waters, spend their lives in the Arctic waters of Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia.
• Habitat – Most narwhals winter for up to 5 months under sea ice in the Baffin Bay-Davis Strait area.
• Coloration – They change color as they age.
  • Newborns are a blue-gray
  • Juveniles are blue-black
  • Adults are a mottled gray.
  • Old narwhals are nearly all white

Narwhales coloration contributed to their name “corpse whale”, refers to how their skin colour resembles that of a drowned sailor.

• Diet – They change their diets seasonally, feeding intensely in the winter and eating little during the ice-free summer season.
• Tusks – Some have up to 2 tusks, while others have none.

• The spiralled tusk juts from the head and can grow as long at 10 feet.
  • Males – They have a single long, straight tooth (or tusk) that protrudes 2 to 3 meters out of the upper left jaw.
  • Females – They almost never have a tusk.

• Usage of tusks – Used to investigate, manipulate and influence the behavior of Arctic char, a prey.
• Tusking behaviour – A situation where 2 or more of them simultaneously raise their tusks almost vertically out of the water, crossing them in what may be a ritualistic behaviour.
• It is to assess a potential opponent’s qualities or to display those qualities to potential mates.
• Threats – Oil and gas development and climate change pose threats to narwhals.
• Conservation status
  • IUCN – Least Concerned

References

1. Down To Earth| Study on Narwhals usage of their Tusks
2. WWF| Narwhals are Unicorns of Sea