I don't know if you knew that the narwhal's horn is actually the left front tooth, which pierces the lip and grows, twisting in a small spiral. The narwhal does not use this "tusk" for defense or attack - it is soft and covered with small holes filled with water. In fact, the horn serves as an additional sensory organ for the narwhal, such as a nose or ears.
For anyone interested, let's take a closer look at them.
In the order of cetaceans, there are a huge number of different species of mammals. The most notable of these are the narwhals. They owe such popularity to their long horn or tusk, which sticks out right from the mouth and reaches a length of 3 meters. This tusk consists of bone tissue, but, along with hardness, is extremely flexible. In reality, it is nothing more than one of the two upper teeth piercing the upper lip and crawling out. Such a tusk weighs 10 kg.
The narwhal has no more teeth. Females and males have only two of them. The left tooth grows into a tusk and only in males. The right tooth is hidden in the upper gum and does not manifest itself in any way throughout life. Very rarely, in some individuals, it also begins to grow rapidly and turns into a second tusk. What this is connected with is unknown. But it's not a secret for anyone that if a narwhal breaks its tusk or horn, then it never grows, and the wound is rapidly tightened by bone tissue, and the mammal continues to live with the fragment, without experiencing any discomfort.
For greater elasticity and reliability, the tusk is twisted clockwise and has a spiral shape. It contains a huge number of microscopic cavities. They are filled with very sensitive nerve endings. Why does an animal need such a complex and, at first glance, absolutely useless apparatus - there is no answer to this question. Most likely, the tusk performs the functions of some kind of locator or receiving-transmitting antenna. He monitors temperature changes, pressure in the environment, through his narwhal can inform his relatives about the danger. All these are guesses and assumptions. It is also embarrassing that females do not have such formations. They are the prerogative of males. Males often rub their horns, thus clearing them of mineral deposits and growths.
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Narwhal is a rather large animal. In length, some representatives of this species reach 5 meters. The usual length ranges from 4 meters. The male weighs one and a half tons. Females weigh from 900 kg to a ton. For some reason, this mammal has no dorsal fin. Only lateral fins and a powerful tail are available. The narwhal's head is round, with a prominent frontal protuberance on it. The mouth is low and very small. The belly of the mammal is light in color. The back and head are much darker. The entire upper part of the body is covered with grayish-brown spots of various sizes, making the back and head even darker. The eyes are small, deeply sunk, with an actively circulating intraocular fluid. That is, they are fully adapted to the harsh Arctic conditions, and besides, they are also endowed with sharp eyesight.
Narwhals have a thick layer of subcutaneous fat. This is not surprising, since their whole life is spent in the cold waters of the Arctic Ocean. The Canadian Arctic Archipelago region, Greenland and Svalbard are their favorite spots. They also like the waters near Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya. During winter, they can be found in the bays of the Bering Sea. Here they get all the way to the Commander Islands. During this cold season, they are also frequent guests in the White Sea.
In the short arctic summer, when the ice is receding, the narwhal can even reach 85 ° N. sh. With the onset of autumn, the mammal moves to the south. In winter, it chooses for itself polynyas in an ice shell that covers the water. It is near these small holes in the ice that narwhals while away the harsh Arctic winter months. Frost often covers ice holes with thin ice. Males break this barrier to the air with their heads. I must say that they can even break through an ice crust 10 cm thick.
These animals, although they are relatives of dolphins, are much superior in their capabilities. This applies primarily to stay at sea depth. The dolphin can dive a maximum of 300 meters. The narwhal easily overcomes this mark and can feel quite comfortable at a depth of 500 and even 600 meters. It is believed that these animals dive even to a depth of 1000 meters. The same goes for the time spent underwater. For a dolphin, the limit is 15 minutes. His fellow with a long horn is able to be without air for as long as 25 minutes. So the depths of the sea for the narwhal are almost home.
These mammals reproduce slowly. They only reach puberty by 5 years of age. They mate in the spring. Pregnancy lasts 15 months. One cub is born. Twins are very rare. The baby is born large. Its body length is one and a half meters. Females who have given birth unite into one flock. It can consist of 10-15 individuals. Males live separately. They also form groups of 10-12 animals.
Narwhals feed mainly on molluscs and crustaceans. Fish is also part of their diet. The same cod, flounder, halibut and goby are an integral part of the menu of these animals. When hunting bottom fish, the male often uses his tusk. He scares off the victim, makes it rise from the bottom.
The study of these cetacean mammals is a very difficult task. The thing is that the narwhal does not live in captivity. Once captured, he begins to wither day by day and after three weeks dies. Breeding in captivity is not an issue at all. But on the ocean expanses, the animal lives up to 40-45 years. Nowadays, there are about 50 thousand heads of these amazing creations of nature.
The enemies of the narwhal are serious. The first place of honor is taken by a person. He kills the animal for the sake of its fat, as well as out of sporting interest, to show off an exotic horn to his friends. Nowadays, the killing of females with cubs is strictly prohibited. This is considered poaching. Only the indigenous peoples of the north are allowed to kill males. The rest of the two-legged public is not allowed to fish for narwhals. If these prohibitions were still strictly followed, then the poor mammals would live much easier.
The second place is occupied by killer whales. These powerful and ferocious predators ruthlessly deal with narwhals if they get in their way. As a result, animals with tusks try to get as far as possible into cold waters. They also take a liking to narrow and long fjords, where huge killer whales prefer not to swim.
The polar bear is in third place. Clubfoot is engaged in fishing for narwhals in the harsh winter period, when these animals huddle near small holes in the ice. The predator usually lies quietly near the ice hole and waits for the narwhal to stick its head out of the water to take a life-giving breath of air. As a rule, the hunt is successful. But the bear is lucky only once.
Having lost a comrade, the flock begins to make harsh sounds. They are somewhat reminiscent of a piercing whistle. It is responded to by other flocks clustered in the distance near similar holes. Those in trouble move to them, and the unlucky predator remains with the nose. In general, narwhals are very talkative. They communicate with each other through gurgling or whistling sounds. Sometimes you can hear a hum or something like a creak.
Walruses are considered the fourth enemy of these mammals. True, they are not as dangerous as other predators. Most of the fanged animals are quite loyal to the narwhal. Only a few bites can show a sudden attack of aggression and kill a gape animal with a horn.
Previously, the narwhal tusk was often passed off as a unicorn's horn, which has healing powers. It was believed that if you throw a piece of horn into a glass of poisoned wine, it will change its color.
Narwhals are caught mainly by northern peoples, in particular the Eskimos. They eat meat, fill lamps with fat, use it as butter, and use intestines to make ropes. Crafts are made from tusks. In 1976, the Canadian government introduced restrictive measures on the fishing of narwhals.
The population of narwhals numbers about 40-50 thousand individuals. This species is listed in the Red Book of Russia and is considered rare.
