Narwhal

About the Narwhal

Their tusk is actually a left canine tooth that spirals counterclockwise up to 3 meters long. It contains 10 million nerve endings and functions as a sensory organ detecting changes in water chemistry. Some have two tusks, and 15% of females grow one. They were the basis of the unicorn myth in medieval Europe - Queen Elizabeth I paid 10,000 pounds for one. They can dive to 1,500 meters, among the deepest of all marine mammals. They migrate in pods of up to 1,000 individuals. They are called the unicorn of the sea. They live exclusively in Arctic waters. Climate change and shipping traffic threaten their habitat.