Mar 119 min read

The Greenlandic Narwhal of Qeqertalik (Monodon Monoceros)

Updated: Mar 15

This month's article series will discuss...

The Greenlandic Municipality of Qeqertalik! Qeqertalik is a Municipality on the Danish island of Greenland. It is to the westernmost areas of Greenland. Greenland exists in the Arctic Ocean being a bit east of Canada. The indigenous peoples of Greenland collectively call Greenland Kalaallit Nunaat. This translates into “The land of the people”. However, that translation cannot be 100% confirmed. Qeqertalik is one of the smallest municipalities of Greenland, it is shaped rectangularly. It is an incredibly unique & diverse marine due to it being rather untouched by most humans & due to the abundance of natural resources. The municipality of Qeqertalik is 538.26 Nautical / Marine miles (619.418546 miles or 996.85752 kilometers) from mainland Canada at its closest points. Qeqertalik is also 1298.35 Nautical / Marine miles (1494.114496 miles or 2404.5442 kilometers from the continental United States. This does not include the islands of Canada, this is only the continental Canada. Greenland is usually not a place where you think of marine creatures, however, it has a peculiar assortment of marine animals. One of the most prominent marine animals of Qeqertalik is known as the Narwhal. Believed to be a hoax at first, this creature is rather strange. The narwhal is particularly famous & distinguished due to its large protruding horn that pokes out from the middle of the narwhal's face. This large horn is the narwhal's left canine, much like a walrus tusk. This strange horn will be discussed thoroughly throughout the article. However the horn of the narwhal is not the only strange thing about it, the narwhal has a long history & took to even be recognized as a real species. Due to this & for several other reasons, this animal is arguably one of the most famous animals of the Arctic Ocean. The narwhal while found in other areas, is found in the highest density on the western coast of Greenland. In this article, we will discuss the life of the Greenlandic Narwhal, the mating procedures, tactics, practices, & cycles of the Greenlandic Narwhal, the distribution of the Greenlandic Narwhal & finally the scientific detailings of the Greenlandic Narwhal. With that being said, let us delve into this mysterious & mythical creature.

The Life Of The Narwhal

The Narwhal was discovered in 1577 by the English explorer known as Martin Frobisher. He found it while on an expedition around Northern Canada. It was originally thought to be a sea unicorn. It was first described as a species in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus, a great taxonomist. It was described in his publication “Systema Naturae”. The narwhal may grow up to be approximately 17 feet (5.1816 meters) in length, this includes the tusk. The large protruding canine grows to be on average 7.55 feet (2.30124 feet). The canine is cylindrical & has a pointed end. It is important to note that the majority of females do not have a tusk, while the majority of males do. Occasionally a male can be seen with 2 tusks. A full-grown narwhal will weigh between 2,100 pounds (952.544 kilograms) & 4,200 pounds (1905.088 kilograms). The males tend to be heavier than the females on average. The narwhal will live to be at least 25 years of age, however, the oldest narwhal on record lived to be 50 years of age. Narwhals are incredibly smart creatures as they are similar to dolphins. Their brains are also the same size as the human brain when relative to body mass. They are able to use skills & teach hunting techniques to other narwhals. Narwhals are not just able to mirror other narwhals' behaviors, they have learned how to mirror other species' behaviors. They are also able to synchronize attacks. Little is known about their emotional capacity, however in other studies with their close relatives known as dolphins, the dolphins can be seen going through grief cycles & feeling loss. Narwhals are social creatures who live in groups of 10-20 individual narwhals. They do not often appear by themselves. They are not aggressive towards humans & not aggressive towards each other, they are aggressive to fish species but that is due to the narwhal wanting to consume the fish. They also generally avoid interaction with humans. There is no evidence to suggest that Narwhals are territorial, they seem to migrate fairly often & prefer to not stay in one place. They are primarily hunted by polar bears & Orcas. However a Greenland shark has been found with the remains of a Narwhal in its stomach, it remains unclear if the narwhal was hunted purposefully or if the shark stole the narwhal from another species. The narwhals' diet largely consists of fish such as cod & halibut. However occasionally they can be seen consuming squid & shrimp. They are not cannibalistic in any capacity. The narwhal can consume up to 66 pounds (29.9371 kilograms) of food per day. They more often consume 20-25 pounds (9.07185 to 11.3398 kilograms) per day. They do not have a particularly elevated metabolism so that is not the reason for their high appetite. They do not have a particular time in which they hunt. They hunt by stabbing the fish with the canine & then consuming the fish. They can swim at up to 4.03891 miles per hour (6.499995575 kilometers per hour), which helps them catch fish with immense ease. They have a pair of short flippers that help them swim & turn in the water & their rear flukes assist with propelling them forward. The narwhal is a chunky, stocky whale with a small rounded head. They have short flippers towards the front of them & they do not have a flexible neck. Narwhals have a grey to grey-blue coloration at birth. However, throughout the narwhal's life, the narwhal will turn a light grey, when the narwhal grows very old the narwhal may look completely white. The narwhals sleep by going on the ice or halfway onto the ice to make sure they don’t drown while they sleep, & then cuddling for warmth. They do have eyelids so when the narwhal is sleeping the narwhal will close its eyes.

The Mating Tactics, Practices, Procedures, & Cycles Of The Narwhal

Narwhals mate via sexual reproduction. They are not hermaphroditic & cannot change sexes. However, like most mammals, some Narwhals might be born intersex. They do appear to be monogamous & they do seem to mate for life. The males will sexually mature between the ages of 8 & 10 years. The females will sexually mature between 4 to 8 years of age. The females are most fertile years before the age of 20. After that females will not have the same ease of having a calf. after They do appear to have a particular mating season, this season lasts from the middle of April through the beginning of March. Little is known about the actual mating ritual, however it is known that they mate belly to belly. Also, an attribute that will help the males find a female is the size of their horn. Scientists believe that females will prefer a narwhal that has a larger horn. This is most likely due to females just preferring larger males which usually means that the males' horns will be larger than others. They most likely mate via internal fertilization, however this remains unconfirmed. They often will mate on pack ice off shore or in the water which makes observation of their mating habits difficult. Their gestation period lasts from 13 months to 16 months, the calf will then be born in the summer of the following year. They will have children every 3 years or so. The female will only ever have a singular calf, having twin calves is incredibly rare but not impossible. This is due to the size of the calves. After the calf is born the father will not be a part of the baby's life. The calf will nurse from the mother for approximately 1 year & 6 months before leaving to hunt on its own. During the 18 month period, the baby will be taught how to hunt & will learn how to eat solid foods. It is unclear as to when exactly the baby will start eating solid foods. The mother will stop lactating afterward. The calf will then go off to join a pod on its own.

The Geographical Distribution Of The Narwhal

The narwhal usually sticks to the Arctic Ocean. Contrary to popular belief the narwhal is not found near Antarctica. The narwhal is found throughout northern areas of Canada such as Nunavut, it is also found throughout Greenland, Alaska & various western parts of Russia. They are also believed to be found somewhat north of the Norwegian archipelago of Spitsbergen, however, this has yet to be confirmed. The narwhal is usually found approximately 200 miles (321.869 kilometers) from shore & does not often come close to the coast. They may dive to depths over 4,500 feet (1371.6 meters) multiple times a month, which makes it incredibly hard to track them. There are approximately 80,000 narwhals left on planet Earth & we do not know everywhere narwhals are found. The not any known subspecies of the narwhal, however, this may change.

The Scientific Detailings Of The Narwhal

The Narwhal is a special creature for many reasons, however the most notable of those is the giant horn that it has. This horn is a canine, it is made of ivory & it looks sort of like a spiral. It is important to note that the canine is lodged in the jaw & the base of the canine is covered in flesh. Mostly only males have this horn, however, some females are documented to have it. It is significantly rarer to find a female with a horn. The males will sometimes have 2 horns or canines sticking out. This is rare, as only 1 in every 500 males will grow to have 2 horns. Only 1 female has ever been documented to have 2 horns. Through the years the horn will grow like a tree, with its rings growing up. Another remarkable thing is the brain-to-body mass ratio. It is about the same as humans which begs a lot of questions as to the intelligence of Narwhals. However incredibly little is known about them due to their geographical placement throughout the world. Learning more about the narwhal is not a large priority so most likely this will remain for many decades to come. The narwhal does not have any other teeth other than the large canine. It is not known how they consume without grinding it. They will most likely swallow the prey whole after stunning it with the horn. However, this is only a theory & has not been confirmed. Their bone structure is quite similar to a beluga whale. It is quite short, stout, & cylindrical. They are vertebrates & mammals as they lactate. Narwhals as a species have existed for approximately 1 million years. It is unknown what warranted this evolutionary trait. It was most likely a small original population & this was a gene that kept on being bred back into the species. This would cause more narwhals to keep picking up this trait until it existed in every narwhal & then so on & so forth. Their phylum is Chordata meaning that they developed these 5 characteristics all species under the phylum of Chordata develop 5 similar characteristics either In adulthood or as juveniles. The characteristics that they develop include, a notochord, dorsal hollow nerve cord, endostyle or thyroid, pharyngeal Slits, & a post-anal tail. Their class is Mammalia. Mammalia is classified by the production of milk by the mother for their child to nurse, a neocortex which is a region of the brain, some capacity for fur or hair, & three middle ear bones. There are currently 6,400 species categorized under the class of Mammalia. Their order is Artiodactyla. which are even-toed ungulates. Species categorized under Artiodactyla are ungulates, hoofed animals which bear weight equally on two of their five toes, these toes are the third & fourth toes. The other three toes are either present, absent, vestigial, or pointing posteriorly. Their infraorder is that of Cetacea. Key characteristics of this infraorder are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size & exclusively carnivorous diet. Another characteristic is their incredible social intelligence. There are roughly 90 species categorized under Cetacea. Their family is Monodontidae. This is a cetacean family that only comprises 2 living species, those species being the Beluga whale & the Narwhal. These 2 creatures are incredibly genetically similar. Their genus is Monodon. Monodon is a genus that contains only 1 species, this species is the narwhal. This creatures Binomial name is Monodon Monoceros.

The Fight To Recognize The Narwhal As A True Species That Was Not Mythical

The narwhal was not originally recognized as a real species, it was seen as an actual unicorn. This was when it was first discovered in 1557. This caused a delay in studying the creature due to the animal being killed off for the horn. It was believed that the horn had magical properties which prompted the mass hunt of the narwhal in the first place. This leads to modern day society in which a shocking amount of the population still believes that the narwhal is a mythical creature. By taxonomy, however, the narwhal is recognized as an actual species & not some mythical entity.

Directories / Credits

Strategic Partnerships

Reel Guppy Outdoors

Our Loyal Patrons

Ms. Ochoa

The Greenlandic Narwhal of Qeqertalik (Monodon Monoceros)

Recent Posts

Comments