Shawn+Sovorsky

=The Narwhal= The Narwhal, or Monodon monoceros, is a medium-sized toothed whale that lives year round in the arctic. They are also nicknamed "The Unicorns of the Sea" because of the males long, straight helical tusk extending from their upper left jaw. The Narwhal is primarily found in the Canadian Arctic and Greenlandic waters rarely south of 65 degrees North latitude. They feed on benthic prey, mostly flatfish, mostly at depths of up to 1500 meters under dense pack ice. Being a porpoise, the Narwhal is closely related to the Beluga Whale too. The Narwhal is a pale-colored porpoise that that have two teeth. The prominent tooth grows into a sword-like spiral tusk which grows up to eight feet long. This tooth/tusk grows through the upper lip. Sometimes, in rare occasions, they may grow up to two of thesetusks. Even some females might grow their own t usk on rare occasions

The Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) belongs to the "Chordata" Phylum, the "Mammalia" Class, and the "Cetacea" Order.

This marine mammal lives in Canadian Arctic and Greenlandic waters. In the winter time, they are primarily found in offshore, deeper waters under thick pack ice, surfacing in narrow fissures in the ice, or leads. Narwhals from Canada and West Greenland winter regularly feed in the pack ice of Davis Strait and Baffin Bay along the continental slope with than less than 5% open water and high densities of Greenlandic halibut. Their most notable adaptation is the ability to perform deep sea dives. When on their winter grounds, the Narwhal makes some of the deepest dives ever recorded for a marine mammal, diving to at least 800 meters (2400 feet) over 15 times a day. Some dives may reach to the depths of over 1500 meters (4500 feet). Those dives last up to around 25 minutes. In the shallower Summering grounds, Narwhals dive to depths between 30 and 300 meters (90-900 feet).

Narwhals normally congregate in groups of about five to ten individuals. In the summer, several groups come together forming even larger congregations. At times, male Narwhals rub their tusks together in an activity called "tusking". This behavior is thought to maintain social dominance hierachies.

The Narwhals mating season is during the summer time. The gestation period is between 10-16 months after which one single calf is born a darker color than the adult.

The areas highlighted in blue indicate where the Narwhal inhabit.