Narwhals

Have you ever heard of a creature that has 1 horn, swims and lives in the Canadian arctic? I have and I’m doing my blog about it. It is the infamous narwhal that not much is known about it. Anyways my Blog is going to be about the adaptations that narwhals have received and their behaviors.

My topic is on Narwhal adaptations.  The first adaptation for the narwhal is its lack of dorsal fins. This enables them to hide beneath ice to hide from their main predator, the killer whale! But this also has a disadvantage. Without their dorsal fin they can’t swim fast. This is called a” survival of the fittest adaptation”.  It meant that narwhals that couldn’t hide under the ice probably would have been hunted by killer whales.

       The narwhal is called Monodon monoceros in the scientific nomenclature, which means one tooth, one horn. The narwhal I used to think was a made-up creature and because of all the characteristic of it. Male narwhals can be up to 5 meters and weigh up to 1800 kg which is a lot of weight.  Females are somewhat smaller reaching a length of about 4 meters and 1000kg which is quite different from the male narwhal. Another reason I thought the narwhal was imaginary is its one giant horn. The narwhal is an odontocete or toothed whale. It is different then all others whales because it has no teeth in its mouth Instead the male develops a long straight tooth (or tusk) that protrudes 2-3 m out of the upper left jaw. The tooth grows in a counterclockwise spiral. They also can dive and not come up for oxygen for about 25 minutes.

Little is known about Narwhals it is a mysterious creature some call it the unicorn of the sea. Narwhals are very difficult to study. They live in remote places, far from civilization in a habitat that is dark for half the year, covered in ice and not easy to access we know that narwhals are one of the deepest diving marine animals, making dives of over 5,400 ft. It’s most recognized for its tusk ranging in size from 3 to 8 feet, and weigh up to 22 pounds. But that is the most of it like I said not much is known about the mysterious Narwhal.

It’s a pale-colored porpoise found in Arctic coastal waters and rivers. These legendary animals have two teeth. In males, the more prominent tooth grows into a sword like, spiral tusk up to 8.8 feet (2.7 meters) long. The ivory tusk tooth grows right through the narwhal’s upper lip. Scientists are not certain of the tusk’s purpose, but some believe it is prominent in mating rituals, perhaps used to impress females or to battle rival suitors. Females sometimes grow a small tusk of their own, but it does not become as prominent as the males. Narwhals are related to bottlenose dolphins, belugas, harbor porpoises, and orcas. Like some other porpoises, they travel in groups and feed on fish, shrimp, squid, and other aquatic fare. They are often sighted swimming in groups of 15 to 20, but gatherings of hundreds or even several thousand narwhals have been reported.

6 thoughts on “Narwhals

  1. I really enjoyed reading your blog because it was about a very uncommon animal. The narwhal is a relatively endangered animal. It is estimated that there are roughly 10,000 to 45,000 narwhals. Narwhals are preyed upon by Inuit hunter , polar bears, sharks, and walruses.They are closely related to the whale in several different ways. They travel in pods and vocalize similar to the ways that whales do. Narwhals can grow to be about 16 feet (4.9 m) long (not counting the tooth), and weigh about 1.8 tons (1.6 tonnes). Females are slightly smaller, averaging about 13 feet (4 m) long, and weighing 1 ton (0.9 tonnes). At birth, narwhals are about 5 feet (1.5 m) long and 175 pounds (80 kg). To learn more go to:
    http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales/species/Narwhal.shtml

  2. One thing I have always liked about narwhals is their large tusk. I wish more information was available about them. It is just too bad they had in places that are so far away. What are narwhal tusks made of? Is it ivory like an elephant? I remember a time when I was younger when narwhals were one of my favorite animals. Yes, it was mainly because of the tusk. Now I wonder how narwhals have survived through evolution. It would seem like it would be hard to manuver with that tusk on the front of their head. Wouldn’t it also make it harder to eat.
    A website I found helpful was this:
    http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales/species/Narwhal.shtml I’m sorry it isn’t hyperlinked but I am on an old computer. Just copy and paste. See ya around.

  3. I think that Narwhals are very interesting because there is not a lot known about them. I found that the Narwhals are vulnerable to the climate change and global warming. The Narwhals use their tusks to defend of enemies like the Killer whale and polar bears. Narwhals have two teeth. In males one of the teeth grows out like a sword so they can eat flesh. Narwhals and porpoises are very closely related because they come from the Delphinoidea super family. In medieval Europe, they thought the Narwhals were sea unicorns and considered them majestic. The Vikings hunted the Narwhals and were able to sell them for many danegold.

    http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/narwhal/

  4. your topic was very intersting. i have never heard of a narwhals, which made me wanted to resource this more. i found that name Narwhal means “corpse whale” because it often swims belly up, for several minutes with out moving. i also found that they move around slow but when they are chased they can pick up there speed quit a bit.
    http://library.thinkquest.org/3500/Narwhal.html
    this is where i found my information about the narwhals.

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