The Narwhal is a fascinating whale that live in the Arctic Ocean. it reminds many people of the mythical unicorn because one of the male’s teeth and occasionally one of the female’s teeth is hugely elongated.
A Narwhal has two teeth. The roots of the teeth are buried in the upper jaw. The left tooth actually grows through the upper lip, extending out of the whale’s mouth to form a straight, spiraled tusk. This may be as long as ten feet in the male. Unlike our teeth, a Narwhal’s tusk is somewhat flexible.
The “nar” in the narwhal’s name comes from an old Norse word that means “corpse”. The mottled black, grey, and white appearance of the adults reminded earlier people of a floating corpse in the sea. The scientific name of the narwhal is monodon monoceros, which in Greek means “one tooth, one horn”.
Narwhals are adapted for life in the Arctic and are rarely found below 65 degrees north in latitude. They are most abundant in the Arctic Ocean near Canada and Greenland. They also inhibit the water by Russia and Svalbard, which is the part of Norway. Occasionally, they are seen near Alaska.
The whales usually swim offshore at various depths in the water, often in he midst of ice. Researchers have recently discovered that narwhals off the coast of Greenland come as close as a kilometer to glacier fonts that are releasing chunks of ice. The animals don’t seem to be bothered by the noise that is created.
Eduindex News 