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Quark Expeditions is uncompromisingly polar, specializing in expeditions to Antarctica and the Arctic. Trying to see them means to go on an expedition-like journey. No whale lives further up north than the narwhal , as it prefers to stay at the edges of the pack ice. So you have to go really, really far up north to see them. More like an expedition than a trip. The most famous and also most impressive photos of narwhals were taken by National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen , who grew up in the arctic Nunavut.
Despite moving in those regions as comfortable as the local Inuit, it took him ten years and a microlight to get his shots of the narwhals in the cracked ice of Nunavut. Whales from such remote areas should have no place in a whale watching blog, but then again you need unrealistic goals in life, too. Narwhals are the unicorns of the sea. Fairy tale figures with one big difference: They do exist. However, they are very shy and reclusive. It grows in a pointed spiral, weighs about 10 kilos and can get up to 3 meters long.
The use of the tusk is not completely explored, yet. A long time ago, the tusk was said to have magic healing powers , especially in Asia, where tiger testicles and shark fins are also believed to hold special powers. This made narwhals a lucrative prey, when selling them to Asian markets.
In Europe, the narwhal tusk was just sold as a unicorn horn, probably at an even higher price than the ones in Asia. All that made narwhals — and especially their tusk — a prime target for whalers of the 19th and 20th century. Today, the tusk is deemed a possible secondary sex characteristic: The longer the tusk, the higher the rank of the animal, resulting in more female mates during mating season. Also, the tusk is believed to be a sensory organ, acquiring information like temperature, saltiness and pressure of the water around them.
Apart from that, such a tusk may also come in very handy when trying to fend off a rival male. The legendary tusk and living in the remoteness of the Arctic are a perfect combination, making the narwhal so fascinating and mysterious. Grey to brown, speckled all over except for an all white belly. Young animals are grey, getting lighter with age.
Old animals are almost white. Small head with a visible melon, short snout. Compared to the body of the rather shapeless beluga, the narwhal is a lot more streamlined. This area is considered one of the most prolific wildlife areas in the Arctic.
They have been known to linger and take their time swimming westward through Lancaster Sound towards their summer feeding grounds. This is by far the best opportunity to see them as they travel close to the floe edge. Incredibly, narwhal tend to seek cracks in the same places each year. It is believed that their tusks hold a sensory function and can pass on information and communication for the sake of this migration through the emerging ice break-up.
In summer months they return to ice-free summer territories, which are usually in more shallow waters. Even though narwhal one of the deepest divers of all marine mammals, during the summer they will only dive from m and spend more time at the surface.
Although they can be expected to swim further from shore in summer, you can get opportunities to see them as they hunt for their summer diet of mostly Arctic cod, Greenland halibut, and polar char. Although narwhal are creatures of habit and will often return to the same feeding grounds, there are still many variables that effect where to see narwhal. With several similar feeding grounds, narwhal are harder to find in summer.
This is a round trip of roughly 3, km each year. At this time of year, it is extremely rare to see narwhal as they race against the cold before the ice freezes.
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