The Narwhal The Unicorn of the Ocean Essay - 907 Words

The Narwhal is a whale and is also known as the unicorn of the sea. It is in the family of bottlenose dolphins, orcas, and Belugas (World Wildlife Fund). The scientific name for the Narwhal is Monodon monoceros and it is Greek meaning one-tooth, one-horn. It can grow up to 13-16 feet in length and weighs almost 2 tons (4,000 pounds). The region they are usually located is around the Arctic waters of Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia. They are known as unicorns of the sea because they have a tusk, one of their teeth, coming out of the front of the skull. According to the World Wildlife fund (2014), â€Å"Males most commonly have tusks, and some may even have two. The tusk, which can grow as long as 10 feet, is actually an enlarged tooth.† The†¦show more content†¦It also means that big chunks of ice will break off and create walls on top of the ocean waters. With the ice melting, the NarDewhal habitat has to change, but I don’t believe that they can adjust to such critical circumstances because their living environments are all about deep waters and ice. Although ice is not primarily what Narwhals live under, they need to coldness to live in the area. There was an incident in Canada that caused the Narwhal population to decrease substantially. Jaymi Heimbuch (2008) says that, â€Å"In a heartbreaking move, the Canadian government decided it would rather allow 500 Narwhals to be shot one by one at an air hole in the ice, rather than bring in icebreakers to help free the whales.† They could have also killed the Narwhals to receive money from the ivory and other parts of the Narwhal. Evidence indicating there is a problem The Narwhal population is approximately at 50,000 in the whole world. According to savetheNarwhales.org, â€Å"Most endangered species have populations of 1,000 to 25,000.† This means that the Narwhals are nearing endangerment. The temperature change is also evidence that there is a problem. While the climate changes, Narwhals cannot adapt so they either migrate elsewhere or slowly die. Even a slight change in temperature causes the ice to