Narwhals: Tusked Oddities

by Steven Hays in Folklore, March 18, 2009

Narwhals are interesting rarely seen animals. They are also the source of the Unicorn legend, and are spectacular creatures.

Narwhals live in the Arctic Regions. Russia, and coast of Greenland, and prefer colder water temperatures. As is part of their mating and feeding pattern, they will migrate to the coast in summer, and out to sea in winter, feeding on a wide array of different fish and other creatures, including squid, shrimp, “schooling” fish, halibut, and redfish. Basically any cold temp. fish they can find.

Contrary to what might initially think, Narwhals are nowhere near extinct. There is actually an estimated 50,000 narwhals living now. However, due to the fact that they are a naturally small population, and to avoid any future problems, they have been put on the protected list, although hunting them is legal by the Inuits, since their diet depends on them, seals, and walrus.

There is a good deal of mystery around the use of a Narwhals tusk, which is actually a tooth that grows straight out from the whales mouth. Some believe it is for hunting, others believe it is for jousting, and still others believe it is a sensory organ. Many believe its all three, and then some. Other purposes include its use as an “ice pick” in which narwhals move up and down together as a pod to break ice and get to their air supply, similar to that of the picture below.

The most important, and interesting feature of it though, is that it isn’t like a normal tooth. It is considerably sensitive. It is said to have over thousands of receptors on it, used to identify temperature, salinity, vibrations, and noises in the water, all of which are key in its communication and survival.

These tusks are generally found in single units on male narwhals at a length of 7 to 10 feet long, though on rare occasions females can grow them too. Every once and a while, cases of males growing two tusks has been seen, although they are very rare. They can either spiral around each other, or stay separate. Only once in recorded history has there ever been a case in which a female produces two tusks. This is a rare event indeed!