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Narwhals
Narwhals
inhabit the cold waters around Arctic regions, and can be found along
most coastal areas of Greenland. An adult male reach an average length of about 5 m
and can weigh as much as 1600 kg, the female is somewhat smaller than the male. The
back is greyish and speckled, with a lighter coloured belly, and the dorsal fin is
missing. The male has a very characteristic tusk, which are the left front tooth that
has grown through the upper lip.
These tusks are about 1.5-3 m long and are used as swords,
when the males are battling over the rights to mate with females. For many hundreds of years,
people thought that these tusks came from fabulous animals, for example the Unicorn. The
narwhal feeds on fish, squids and crustaceans. Female reaches sexual maturity at the age
of 4-7 years, while the males are older, 8-9 years.
Projects on Narwhals by The Department of Arctic Environmnet:
in assosiation with The Institute of Natural Ressources in Greenland
Read more in general about the narwhals here:
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