Creature Day/Nawhal

Here we are at another Tuesday and of course that means it is creature day and this week’s creature is the Narwhal, heard of it, me neither.

They are the unicorns of the sea according to the book I am using; they have a sword-like spiral protruding from their head.

This ivory tusk is a long tooth which grows much longer in males then females up to 3 meters long about half their body length. Scientists believed it is used in mating rituals to impress females and to fight their rivals.

Others say the tusk is used as a tool for sensing changes in the environment, like differences in the water temperature or salt level. They also use it to rub against each other for cleaning.

It is related to bottlenose dolphins, beluga whales and orcas, they travel in pods of up to 20, but have been seen in groups of thousands in the Artic waters of Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia.

Narwhal comes from the old Norse word Nar meaning corpse, they are thought to have been named this because the resemble the bodies of dead sailors.

They have been eaten by people in Artic villages in both Canada and Greenland for thousands of years. In Greenland most of it is eaten including the meat, the blubber, the skin and organs.