Field guide · rare
Narwhal
The unicorn of the sea — an Arctic whale whose spiralled tusk is actually a tooth that can grow three metres long.
Near Threatened
Overview
The narwhal is one of the Arctic's most mysterious cetaceans — a mottled grey whale with a long spiralled tusk erupting from the upper lip of most males. The tusk is an elongated left canine tooth, packed with nerve endings, possibly used for sensing or communication.
Narwhals spend winters in dense pack ice and summers in ice-free fjords, diving to extraordinary depths — over 1,500 metres — to hunt Greenland halibut and squid. They are among the most northerly mammals on Earth.
Habitat
Arctic waters around Greenland, Canada, and Russia hold narwhals. They migrate seasonally between offshore winter ice and summering grounds in bays and fjords of the Canadian High Arctic and Baffin Bay.
Countries found
Interesting facts
- 01
The narwhal's tusk is actually an elongated tooth — it can grow up to 3 metres long.
- 02
Narwhals can dive deeper than 1,500 metres — among the deepest of any marine mammal.
- 03
They are called the 'corpse whale' in Old Norse for their mottled, corpse-like colour.
Conservation status
Narwhals are Near Threatened, vulnerable to climate change reducing sea ice, noise from shipping, and hunting in Greenland. Canadian Arctic populations remain the best studied.
Keep exploring
Where it lives
Free on iOS
Catch the Narwhal
Spot one in the wild — then scan it in Catch'Um to log your rare discovery.