Drone footage has finally revealed that a reputed whale of remote Arctic Waters, Narwalas, have used their mysterious tusks.
Narwhals (monodon monoseros) are the Arctic whales that are most known for their long, spiral tusks, essentially longer teeth that can grow up to 10 feet.
While the researchers have long suspected that Narwal’s tusks have played a role in Met selection, its entire task remains a mystery. Studying Narwhals in the wild is very difficult due to their remote habitat and elusive nature. As a result, the optimization capacity for the social interaction of the species, breeding habits, and environmental changes was largely unknown.
However, A recent study Using drone footage finally highlights the species and its unicorn tusks. Researchers at Fishing and Fishing and Oceans of Canada, Florida Atlantic University and Canadian fisheries collaborates with Inuit communities in Nuwavut in Canada, to film the area’s nevoles using drones equipped with video cameras.
The footage captured 17 different behaviors, some never documented before, revealing how these whales interact with their environment.
One of the most important discoveries was how Narhals use their tusks to hunt. Researchers found the first evidence of Naravhals using their tusks to manipulate and attack them in Arctic four fish.
They use their tusks to kill the fish with such force that the fish later stunned and is potentially, killed. Scientists also observed their surroundings, fodder for food, and even using their tusks to play.
“Narwhals are known for their ‘tusking’ behavior, where two or more of them almost extract their tusks almost vertically from the water, a ritual behavior to assess the properties of a potential rival or to display those properties for potential peers,” Greg O’carring O’carring O’carfroy, ” In a news release.
“But now we know that there are other uses of Narwal tusks, some are quite unexpected, including forging, exploration and playing.”
Footage suggests that Narwal can also use his tusks to detect changes in water temperature and salinity, which can help them navigate icy water and help them in their hunting efforts.
As IFL Science, The study suggests that Narwhals can also use the tusks to play, including the functional target to test and interact with objects in their environment. In a stunning moment, the researchers saw three narvals interacting with any fish – eaten – naked, pushing, and being investigated as such as out of curiosity rather than hunger. This indicates that individual narwhals can use their tusks separately, possibly showing personality differences between the species.
“I have been studying Narwal for more than a decade and have always surprised at my tusks,” Cortney Wat, PhD, co-writer and research scientist and team lead fisheries and Ocenses, Canada.
“It is notable to inspect them using their tusks for forging and playing. This unique study where we set up a remote area camp and spent time to film Narwal with drones, receiving many interesting insights and providing a bird scene about their behavior that we have never seen before. ,
Complete study is published in Limitations in marine science,
Image Credit: Header photo O’Corry-Crowe, Fau/Watt, Dfo,
