Talk about your charismatic megafauna!I remember from grade school learning about the narwhal. We were taught that its horn was used for fighting and for breaking up the ice so it could breathe. However, like so much learned in elementary school, this piece of information has been shown to be, well, wrong.
The tusk is actually a giant tooth with millions of nerve endings that allow the narwhal to gather information about water pressure, temperature and matter concentration.
The NY Times has a nice article about this discovery, and you can learn more than you probably ever wanted to know at Narwhal.org
However, neither of these sources says much about the narwhal's declining numbers. In April of 2004 National Geographic ran a story on Dr. Mads Peter Heide-Joergensen's study of narwhal population numbers. This study showed an average 6% decrease per year over the past 17 years.
Hunting may be one reason for the narwhal's slow disappearance, Heide-Joergensen said. Narwhals are hunted by local Inuit populations for their tusks, meat, and skin. The narwhal's skin is particularly valuable, as it has an extremely high vitamin C content, he said.
In addition, climate change and a growing halibut fishery may be playing a role in the changing numbers, Heide-Joergensen said.
2 comments:
I woke up yesterday morning to this story on NPR and couldn't take the time to research it more. I find it facinating. So thanks for the info and the links! Who doesn't love the Narwhal?
You are very welcome, Ash! Thanks for stopping by - and good luck on the rest of your finals!
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