Title: Narwhals of the Arctic Facts and Adaptations - Monodon monoceros
Headings: Narwhals - Facts and Adaptations
Monodon monoceros

Narwhals - Facts and Adaptations
Monodon monoceros
Medium sized toothed whales with just the single long tusk is present in males and about 15% of females. Animals of the far north and the original unicorns.
What are Narwhals like? how do they survive?
Narwhals live in groups of 10-100 individuals though can sometimes form much larger groups.
Historically
Narwhal Adaptations:

Content: They belong to a group called the Cetaceans that includes the large baleen whales such as blue and humpbacks and also smaller toothed whales like orcas, dolphins and porpoises. Narwhals are medium sized toothed whales although they don't have any teeth other than the tusk, there are vestigial teeth when they are young, but these never erupt and disappear before maturity. Narwhals are very difficult to study as they are large fast swimming animals that live in very cold seas in very remote parts of the world. It is difficult and costly to get to where they live and difficult and costly to find out much about them when you are there, consequently their biology is not very well known. Inuit people's hunt narwhals for food which provide some specimens that may be studied to provide information about them. They can also be tracked by satellite transmitters attached to their backs. Narwhals live in groups of 10-100 individuals though can sometimes form much larger groups. Narwhal Tusks
The most obvious and striking feature of narwhals is the tusk. This is an elongated canine tooth and is mainly found in males though around 15% of females also have a tusk albeit shorter and with a less pronounced spiral. The tusk is the left upper canine tooth and has a fairly tight left handed spiral which is thought to keep the tusk straight as it grows rather than curving as in other animals with tusks such as elephants and pigs which would cause problems when swimming.