The narwhal

The narwhal is a medium sized whale found in Arctic waters around Canada, Russia and Greenland. These sea mammals are around 3.95 to 5.65 meters long when adults. A narwhal can be distinguished by its large horn like tusk. Narwhals tend to vary between 800 to 1600 kilogrammes when adults but males are bigger and heavier than females.

This mammal is also known as the unicorn of the sea. It primarily eats fish like cod and flat fish. Narwhals life span tend to vary but they can live up to 50 years. Unfortunately most of them in the wild don't get the opportunity to live that long due to other predators but they can also die from flash freezing waters, trapping the creature and making it immobile. The younger ones tend to mostly die due to starvation and this animal in on the watchlist as it is Near Threatened with about 75 000 live Narwhals.

: Narwhal compared to an average human being

 This creature was hunted by natives for it's ivory and meat, causing its population to massively decrease. The Inuit believed the narwhal came to be when a women harpooned a narwhal and the rope was tied around her waist, she fell in the water and turned into a narwhal and her tied that was tied in a knot became a horn. In the medieval ages, narwhal tusks were such a huge luxury, that a simple crown made by it was worth  castle. People back then believed it was like unicorn horn and thought it had magic powers. The horns were used as cups as it was thought it neutralised any poison put in it and also used a remedie against sicknesses such as melancholia.

I especially like this animal as I've been fascinated by Arctic sea creatures such as the Orca whale (Killer Whale). I learned quite a bit writing this article as it helped me learn more about this unicorn of the sea. I never knew Narwhal horns were such a valuable resource in the dark ages as Î thought only gold and gems mattered.

For a National Geographic documentary on theses creatures, click the link below :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO58kt-jETA