There’s nothing quite like the narwhal. Of all the animals with tusks – from elephants to walruses – they’re surely the most fantastical. Unicorns of the sea, these porpoise-like creatures can grow spiral tusks up to three metres long.
Description
These projections are an extraordinary modification of the left canine tooth that grow straight through the narwhal’s upper lip.
Their purpose is not fully understood – some believe males use them in mating rituals; others say they are used to slap and stun fish. They are also packed with millions of nerve endings, so could be used in communication.
North or South: Narwhals live in the Arctic seas of Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia. Groups of several hundred are sometimes trapped in channels – or leads – in the winter sea-ice of Baffin Bay and the Davis Strait. During summer, they are often sighted at Qikiqtarjuaq (formerly Broughton Island) along with their close relatives, the beluga whale.
Just as cool: Sharing the same Arctic waters as the narwhal, bowhead whales grow to 18m in length and weigh up to 100 tonnes. Once hunted to the brink of extinction, they can now be found in large numbers in Isabella Bay on Baffin Island each summer
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