We’ve all seen narwhals in pop-culture, showing up in places like the movie Elf or on YouTube in that slightly-annoying, slightly-funny narwhal music video. We know they look like unicorns, but what makes these majestic sea creatures so awesome?
These sea unicorns seem to have a massive tusk on their heads, but that “tusk” is actually nothing more than a tooth! Narwhals can have two of these bad boys on their heads (although, admittedly, there’s technically only been one recorded case). Male narwhals will sometimes rub tusks with each other to establish a social hierarchy. However, some scientists believe these narwhals could be sharing information about water chemistry, which they sense through “microchannels” in their tusks. The giant, helical tooth apparently has millions of nerve endings that directly tell the narwhal’s brain what’s going on in the water around them!
If you think that’s interesting, wait until you hear how narwhals find food. Narwhals use echolocation, like bats. How do they do this, you might ask? They make clicking noises through air chambers near their blow holes, which is then bounced off the front of their skulls! Scientists are beginning to hypothesize that echolocation can actually paralyze prey.
Other cool facts about the narwhal:
- They can live up to around 50 years old.
- When a narwhal is born, it’s dark brown and spotted. As it gets older, it starts to turn white. Old male narwhals turn almost completely white.
- Narwhals often swim upside down.
- Narwhals tend to dive down to the ocean floor, sometimes reaching depths of almost 5,000 feet.
- Their tusks can grow to be 10 feet long and bend about a foot before breaking.