Narwhal

Template:Infobox AnimalThe Narwhal is a species of whale that is known for its long, spiraling tusk. It can only be found in Endless Ocean 2.

In-Game Description

Endless Ocean 2

"Easily recognized by the male's spiraling tusk, which can be as long as 10ft. There are rare cases of males with two tusks and females with tusks."

[Beliefs in the Narwhal]

"Europeans in the Middle Ages believed that a unicorn's horn had the power to negate poison, which made it more valuable than gold.

How did Inuit tribes believe the narwhal started long ago? It goes a bit like this:

A woman was hunting belugas a long ways back and got her harpoon firmly into a big one. The harpoon's rope looped around her waist and she was pulled into sea, and she drowned, transforming into a narwhal. Her hair had been done up in a knot, and it metamorphosed into the narwhal's famous tusk."

Location

Endless Ocean 2

A herd of narwhals can be found in the North Coast of Canada area, spread out between coordinates D-1, D-2, and D-3.

Behavior

These creatures live in a large group that swims around the two easternmost ice holes, occasionally breaching the surface to get air. The player can obtain their trivia information by playing the Sea Whistle for them.

Notes

• This species is one of Jean-Eric's favorite creatures.
• There are two aggressive Greenland sharks that patrol the same area that these dolphins inhabit, so divers must exercise caution when looking for them.

Real-Life Information

• While listed as "near threatened" in some places, the narwhal has most recently been assessed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as "least concern". This means that it is not at risk of going extinct anytime soon.
• The Beluga is the narwhal's closest living relative. This is clear in the strikingly similar shapes of their rounded snouts, as well as their preference for cold environments. They are the only two living members of the family Monodontidae.
  • Narwhals and belugas are often referred to as whales, despite their closer connection to dolphins in appearance, behavior, and taxonomic status. Along with dolphins and porpoises, they are members of the superfamily Delphinoidea, the largest group in the parvorder Odontoceti (the toothed whales).
  • Narwhals and belugas have even been known to interbreed.
• The name "narwhal" is old Norse in origin; the prefix "nar" means "corpse", and "hval" means "whale". This is in reference to the fact that their mottled grey skin resembles that of a drowned sailor.
• As mentioned in their in-game description, the narwhal's tusk can be up to 10 feet long. The narwhal itself, on the upper limits of size, can reach between 17 and 20 feet in length (5.2 and 6.1 meters) and from 3000 to 4200 pounds in weight (1360 to 1900 kilograms).
• While there has been debate concerning the function of a narwhal's tusk, research has yielded evidence that it has sensory capabilities, and there is footage of a male narwhal using his tusk to stun and hunt fish.
• 90% of the world's narwhal population gathers in the waters of the Canadian Arctic during the summer months.
• The narwhal is also called the sea unicorn or the unicorn whale, and sometimes the unicorn of the sea. As might be assumed, this is due to its single spiraling horn strongly resembling an elongated unicorn horn.
• Narwhals can live to be over 50 years of age.

Gallery

• A narwhal coming to the surface for air. Its trademark horn is clearly on display.
• Narwhal.jpg
• RIMG0182.JPG
• Narwhals surfacing for air.

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Dolphins and Whales

Bottlenose Dolphin • Pacific White-Sided Dolphin • Short-Beaked Common Dolphin
Commerson's Dolphin • Orca • Risso's Dolphin • Beluga • False Killer Whale • Narwhal
Spectacled Porpoise • Amazon River Dolphin • Southern Bottlenose Whale • Humpback Whale
North Atlantic Right Whale • Pygmy Sperm Whale • Antarctic Minke Whale • Gray Whale
Sperm Whale • Blue Whale