Animal
Narwhal
The narwhal is a whale that lives in the cold Arctic sea. Many narwhals have one very long, twisty tooth called a tusk.
The narwhal is a toothed whale of the icy Arctic Ocean. Most males have a long, spiral tusk that is really a tooth growing forward out of the front of the jaw, and it can be up to about 3 meters long. Narwhals dive deep under the sea ice to catch fish, squid and shrimp.
Monodon monoceros is an Arctic toothed whale of the family Monodontidae, closely related to the beluga. Its tusk, an elongated left upper tooth found mainly in males, is packed with nerve endings. Narwhals dive to about 1,200 meters to feed and depend on sea ice throughout the year.
Photo: пресс-служба ПАО "Газпром нефть", CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Meet the narwhal
The narwhal is a whale with a long tusk.
The tusk is a tooth! It grows straight out from the front of its head. Narwhals have spotty skin and no fin on their backs.
The narwhal is a small toothed whale that lives in the freezing Arctic. It is famous for its tusk, a long, straight, twisted spike that sticks out from the front of its head. The tusk is not a horn at all. It is a tooth that grows forward out of the front of the narwhal's upper jaw, and it can be up to about 3 meters long.
Narwhals have a rounded head, short flippers, gray skin with white and black spots, and no fin on their back. The narwhal and the white beluga whale together make up their own whale family.
Monodon monoceros is a toothed whale (suborder Odontoceti) that shares the family Monodontidae with the beluga. Adults are about 3.5 to 5 meters long, males being larger; NOAA Fisheries gives maximums of about 4.2 meters and 1,000 kilograms for females and 4.8 meters and 1,600 kilograms for males.
The robust body has a small, bulbous head with little or no beak, an upturned mouthline, short blunt flippers and no dorsal fin. The genus name comes from the Greek for 'single-toothed' and the species name for 'single-horned'. The word narwhal may come from Icelandic words meaning 'corpse whale', a reference to the animal's pale color.
Quick facts
- Group
- Mammal
- Length
- 3.5 to 5 m
- Weight
- 1,000 to 1,600 kg
- Lifespan in the wild
- 25 to 50 years
Where it lives
Narwhals live in the cold Arctic sea.
In winter the sea is covered in ice. Narwhals breathe through cracks in the ice. In summer they swim near the coast.
Narwhals spend their whole lives in Arctic waters, mostly near northern Canada, Greenland, Norway's Arctic islands and Russia. Most of them spend winter in Baffin Bay and Davis Strait, between Canada and Greenland, staying under the sea ice for up to five months and breathing through cracks.
They travel with the seasons. In winter they live among the pack ice. In spring they move closer to shore, in summer they follow the melting ice into coastal waters, and in fall they head back out to open water.
The narwhal occurs mainly in the Atlantic sector of the Arctic, from central Canada (Peel Sound and northern Hudson Bay) through Greenland to the Russian Arctic, with few records in the Pacific sector. The IUCN lists Canada, Greenland, Russia, and Svalbard and Jan Mayen as range states; WWF notes that most of the world's narwhals winter for up to five months under the sea ice of Baffin Bay and Davis Strait.
NOAA Fisheries describes an annual migration: pack ice in winter, where whales breathe through cracks or holes; inshore waters in spring; coastal waters in summer, following the ice; and open water in fall. WWF researchers follow these yearly movements with satellite tags attached to narwhals.
Its habitat
Where can you find this animal?
- Lives here naturally · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
- Sightings recorded · Records of wild sightings (GBIF)
Lives here naturally · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
Ice-covered Arctic waters, mostly in the Atlantic part of the Arctic from northern Canada through Greenland to the Russian Arctic, including the Norwegian islands of Svalbard. Narwhals live in the sea and along Arctic coasts.
Places: Arctic Ocean, Canada, Greenland and Russia.
Source: iucn-red-list · checked October 2026
Sightings recorded · Records of wild sightings (GBIF)
Counts of GBIF records of wild observations (human and machine) and preserved specimens. Records include introduced populations, vagrants, escaped or released animals and misidentifications, so a country with records is not necessarily part of the native range.
Wild sightings have been recorded in Canada, Greenland, United States, Norway, UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Russia and 12 more places.
Source: gbif · checked October 2026
Range maps show where scientists say an animal lives, often country by country. An animal may live in only part of a country shown, and sightings records can include animals that wandered far from home.
Deep-diving hunters
Narwhals dive very deep to find food.
They eat fish, squid and shrimp. They suck their food into their mouths!
Narwhals find much of their food near the bottom of the deep sea. They can dive down about 1,200 meters, more than a kilometer, and stay under for up to 25 minutes.
They eat Arctic fish such as Arctic cod and Greenland halibut, plus squid and shrimp. Instead of biting their prey, narwhals suck it into their mouths.
Narwhals forage at or near the seafloor in deep water, diving to about 3,937 feet (1,200 meters) for up to 25 minutes, and WWF reports dives of up to a mile and a half in winter. Prey consists of medium to large Arctic fish, including Arctic cod, polar cod and Greenland halibut (turbot), along with squid and shrimp.
Narwhals capture prey by suction, using the mouth to draw it in. Recent observations reported by Britannica suggest males also use the tusk while hunting fish. WWF points out that whales such as narwhals sit at the top of the food chain and play an important role in the health of the marine environment.
Did you know?
Narwhals change color as they grow up.
Narwhal calves are plain gray-brown. They get spottier and paler with age until old narwhals look white with dark spots.
White mottling develops in juveniles and spreads through adulthood until the skin appears white with dark mottling.
The amazing tusk
The tusk is a tooth that grows out of the front of the narwhal's head.
It twists like a corkscrew. Mostly boy narwhals have tusks. The tusk can feel things in the water.
A narwhal has two teeth in its upper jaw. In most males, the left tooth starts to grow forward, out through the front of the jaw, when the narwhal is two or three years old. It keeps growing into a tusk that spirals to the left and can be up to about 3 meters long and weigh more than 9 kilograms. A few females grow a tusk too, and a few males grow two.
The tusk has up to 10 million nerve endings, so it can sense things in the water.
Both upper teeth usually stay embedded in the jaw of females. In males, at two to three years the left tooth normally grows forward out through the front of the jaw and becomes into a left-handed (counter-clockwise) spiral tusk of up to about 3 meters and over 9 kilograms. Females with tusks and males with two tusks are occasionally recorded.
NOAA Fisheries describes the tusk mainly as a secondary sex characteristic, letting males assess one another's status without fighting and possibly influencing female choice; it may also work as a sensory organ and in catching prey. WWF collaborators report up to 10 million nerve endings, and Britannica notes observations of males using tusks to hunt and to sense salinity. Earlier authorities, including Charles Darwin, thought males used their tusks against one another in competition for mates.
Growing up
A narwhal mother has one baby at a time.
The baby is born in summer. It drinks its mother's milk for at least a year.
A narwhal mother is pregnant for about 13 to 16 months, longer than a year. She gives birth to one calf in summer, in July or August. A newborn calf is already about 1.5 meters long, nearly as long as a grown-up is tall, and weighs about 80 kilograms.
The calf drinks its mother's milk for at least a year. Young narwhals are plain brownish-gray and slowly turn spotty and pale. Females can have their own calves at about six years old, and males are grown up at about eight.
After a gestation of about 13 to 16 months, a single calf is born in July or August, measuring about 1.5 to 1.6 meters and weighing about 80 kilograms. Calves nurse for at least a year. Females reach sexual maturity at about six years and males at about eight.
Narwhals are one of the few species known to go through menopause, along with humans, belugas, killer whales and a few others; females spend a significant part of their lives past reproduction. NOAA Fisheries says narwhals live at least 25 years and may live up to 50, while Britannica reports that the longest-lived individuals are probably between 105 and 125 years old.
Life in the ice
Narwhals swim together in groups.
In summer, big groups swim together near the coast. In winter they stay in smaller groups among the ice.
Narwhals live in groups called pods. Most pods are small, from about 2 to 20 narwhals. In summer, when the sea opens up, hundreds or even thousands of narwhals can gather in the same area. In winter, when the sea freezes, the groups are smaller.
The sea ice is very important to narwhals. They feed under it, and they use it as a place to hide from killer whales. Killer whales are their chief hunters; polar bears and walruses catch narwhals less often.
NOAA Fisheries describes pods of 2 to 10 animals, while Britannica gives typical groups of 15 to 20; both report large, dispersed aggregations of hundreds to thousands in summer. Winter groups are smaller as sea ice forms, and groups may be segregated by age and sex.
The annual cycle is tied to the ice, which offers feeding areas and refuge: WWF notes that slow-swimming whales rely on it to hide from predators such as killer whales. Britannica lists killer whales as predators and, to a lesser extent, polar bears and walruses. Sometimes hundreds of narwhals and belugas are trapped by closing pack ice in a small pool of open water, called a savssat in West Greenland.
A changing Arctic
Narwhals need sea ice to live.
The Arctic is getting warmer, and the ice is changing. Scientists follow narwhals to learn more about them.
Narwhals are not endangered: scientists list them as Least Concern. But the Arctic is changing fast. As the climate warms, the sea ice is shrinking and getting thinner, and narwhals depend on it for food and safety.
Oil and gas work in the Arctic brings more ships, and ships bring noise, pollution and the risk of oil spills. In the United States narwhals are protected by law, and trade in them between countries is controlled. Scientists put satellite tags on some narwhals to follow their journeys and understand them better.
The IUCN's 2017 global assessment lists the narwhal as Least Concern, with about 123,000 mature individuals and an unknown population trend. The species depends on sea ice year-round, and WWF warns that ice extent and thickness are changing faster than Arctic species can adapt.
WWF adds that oil and gas development brings more shipping to sensitive areas, with underwater noise that can mask communication, risks of collisions and spills, and pollution; NOAA Fisheries notes that narwhal tissue may contain high levels of contaminants. Narwhals are hunted by Indigenous peoples of the Arctic for meat, blubber and tusks, and trade is regulated under CITES Appendix II. In the United States they are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
IUCN Red List
How is the narwhal doing in the wild?
- Least Concern (this animal)
- Near Threatened
- Vulnerable
- Endangered
- Critically Endangered
- Extinct in the Wild
- Extinct
Least Concern
Not at risk of disappearing from the wild right now.
See the IUCN Red List assessment · The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.2
Amazing facts
-
A narwhal's tusk is really a tooth.
A narwhal's tusk is its left tooth, grown forward out of its upper jaw into a spiral up to about 3 meters long.
The tusk is the erupted left upper tooth, spiraled counter-clockwise; the right tooth usually stays hidden in the jaw.
-
Some narwhals have two tusks.
Most narwhals with tusks are males, but a few females grow one, and a few males grow two.
Tusked females and double-tusked males are occasionally documented, though both are rare.
-
Narwhals change color as they grow up.
Narwhal calves are plain gray-brown. They get spottier and paler with age until old narwhals look white with dark spots.
White mottling develops in juveniles and spreads through adulthood until the skin appears white with dark mottling.
-
Narwhals can stay underwater for a long time.
A narwhal can dive about 1,200 meters and stay down for up to 25 minutes.
Dives to about 3,937 feet (1,200 meters) lasting up to 25 minutes take narwhals to their feeding grounds near the seafloor.
Words to know
- tusk
- a very long tooth that grows out of an animal's mouth
- sea ice
- frozen seawater floating on the ocean
- pod
- a group of whales that swim together
- calf
- a baby whale
- Arctic
- the cold region around the North Pole
- suction
- pulling something in by sucking
Discovery challenge
-
What is a narwhal's tusk?
What is a narwhal's tusk made from?
Which structure develops into the narwhal's tusk?
- A tooth
- A horn
- A bone in its nose
Show the answer
A tooth
The tusk is a long tooth!
It is the narwhal's left tooth, which grows forward out of the front of the jaw.
The left upper tooth grows forward through the front of the jaw, mainly in males, and forms a spiral tusk.
-
Where do narwhals live?
In which ocean do narwhals live?
Which ocean holds the narwhal's whole range?
- The Arctic Ocean
- The Indian Ocean
- A warm lake
Show the answer
The Arctic Ocean
Narwhals live in the cold Arctic sea.
They live in the Arctic Ocean, near Canada, Greenland and Russia.
The Arctic, mainly its Atlantic sector, with few records in the Pacific sector.
-
What do narwhals eat?
Which foods do narwhals catch on their deep dives?
What makes up most of a narwhal's diet?
- Fish, squid and shrimp
- Grass and leaves
- Ice
Show the answer
Fish, squid and shrimp
They eat fish, squid and shrimp.
They dive deep for Arctic fish such as Greenland halibut, plus squid and shrimp.
Medium to large Arctic fish, including Arctic and polar cod and Greenland halibut, plus squid and shrimp, taken by suction.
-
What does the narwhal need that is melting?
Which part of the Arctic do narwhals depend on that is shrinking as the climate warms?
Conservation groups warn that changes to which habitat could harm narwhals?
- Sea ice
- Sand dunes
- Rainforest trees
Show the answer
Sea ice
Narwhals need sea ice, and it is melting.
Narwhals feed and hide among sea ice, which is shrinking and thinning.
WWF warns that sea-ice extent and thickness are changing faster than Arctic species can adapt.
Places where you might see it
Explore next
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Watch
Country
Canada
Canada is the second-largest country in the world, stretching across the north of North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific and up into the Arctic. It has the Rocky Mountains, thousands of islands and about 42 million people, who speak English, French and many other languages.
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Animal
Beluga whale
The beluga whale is a small white whale of the Arctic. It has no fin on its back, a soft, round forehead it can change shape, and a neck that bends, and it makes so many whistles, chirps and clicks that sailors called it the canary of the sea.
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3D
Animal
Walrus
The walrus is a huge Arctic sea mammal with long ivory tusks and a thick mustache of whiskers. It feels for clams on the sea floor, sucks out the soft part, and rests in big, noisy groups on sea ice and beaches.
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Animal
Polar bear
The polar bear is a huge bear that lives on the frozen sea of the Arctic. Thick fur and a layer of fat keep it warm, its amazing nose finds seals under the snow, and it can swim for many hours. It needs sea ice to hunt, so a warming Arctic is a big problem for it.
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3D
Animal
Orca
The orca, also called the killer whale, is the largest member of the dolphin family and the ocean's top predator. Orcas live in every ocean, in close family groups called pods, made up of orcas related through their mothers. Each group has its own favorite foods, hunting tricks and even its own calls, which young orcas learn from their families.
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3D
Animal
Bowhead whale
The bowhead whale is a giant baleen whale that spends its whole life in cold Arctic waters. Its enormous bow-shaped head can push through sea ice, its blubber is thicker than any other whale's, and some bowheads may live for more than 200 years.
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Watch
Animal
Greenland shark
The Greenland shark is a huge, slow-moving shark of the cold North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean. It grows very slowly in the cold, and in 2016 scientists used the lenses of its eyes to estimate that it can live for at least 272 years, longer than any other animal with a backbone that we know of.
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Watch
Animal
Aardvark
The aardvark is a shy night digger of African savannas. It sniffs out ant and termite nests, rips them open with its spade-like claws and laps up the insects with a sticky tongue about 30 centimeters long. Its name means 'earth pig' in Afrikaans.
For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Explain that the narwhal's tusk is a tooth and describe what scientists think it is for.
- Describe how narwhals dive and feed in the deep Arctic Ocean.
- Describe how the narwhal's year follows the sea ice.
- Understand how a warming Arctic and more shipping affect narwhals.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 12 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might it help a narwhal to have a tusk that can sense the water?
- How might melting sea ice change where narwhals can feed and hide?
- Why do scientists put satellite tags on whales instead of just watching them?
Try at home or in class
- Measure 3 meters with a tape measure to see how long a narwhal's tusk can grow.
- Twist a strip of paper around a pencil to make a left-handed spiral like a narwhal tusk, then try making a right-handed one.
Key vocabulary: tusk, sea ice, pod, calf, Arctic, suction
Where these facts come from
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN terms of use (no redistribution of Red List data or range maps))
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and GBIF Occurrence Search , Global Biodiversity Information Facility (CC0 1.0 (backbone); occurrence counts are facts derived from records under CC0, CC BY and CC BY-NC)
- Narwhal , NOAA Fisheries
- Narwhal , World Wildlife Fund
- Narwhal , Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Monodon monoceros (Narwhal), 2017 global assessment , IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file: Public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA only (credited on each page))
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated October 24, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.