An eight-foot narwhal tusk can bend about a foot in any direction without breaking, making it incredibly strong and flexible.

Narwhals are most closely related to the beluga whale. They are the only two members of the family Monodontidae. Together with dolphins (Delphinoidea) and porpoises (Phocoenidae), they comprise the Superfamily Delphinoidea.

Narwhals feed on Greenland halibut, Arctic cod, polar cod, squid, and shrimp, hunting along the ice floe edge and in ice-free waters during the summer. Since they do not have teeth in their mouth, narwhals are suction feeders that swallow their prey whole.

Narwhals commonly dive to 500 meters, though they can dive in excess of 1,500 meters for more than a 25-minute period. Inuit hunters have documented narwhal dive times of up to 40 minutes.

The narwhal population is estimated to be around 123,000 mature individuals, making them a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List. However, their numbers are threatened by hunting, climate change, and other factors. 

The narwhal gestation period is estimated at 14 months. Though many scientific references indicate that mating occurs primarily in the spring, Inuit traditional knowledge interviews suggest that mating occurs throughout the year, “ like us.”