Creature Feature: Narwhal (Monodon monoceros)

While those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are now into the frigid winter season, what better topic to write about than that of a special, you might even say mythical, Arctic creature, the Narwhal. These unusual creatures are what legends are made of and the source of its horn has been the topic of a few tales.

The Inuit legend of the Narwhal
A wicked woman lived with her daughter and her son, who was born blind. As the son got older, his sight improved, even though the mother tried to convince him of his helpless state. One day a polar bear came near the house and the mother told the son to aim a bow and arrow at the bear through the window covered with seal skin and strike him down. The boy pulled back the arrow and the mother took aim from him. The arrow struck the heart of the bear and although the boy could hear the groans of the dying bear, the mother laughed scornfully at him, saying that he had missed the bear. That night the mother and the daughter had fresh polar bear meat while the mother cooked dog meat for the son. Later the boy's sister told her brother that his shot was successful and secretly gave him meat.

Time passed and an old man came to the house for a visit. Before he left, he told the young girl how she could help her brother regain his sight. In the spring, he told them to watch for a red-throated loon who would swim trustingly toward them. Once the loon was close enough, the blind brother should wrap his arms around the loon's neck and the loon would take him to the bottom of the lake. Once they came up, his sight would return. The loon told the young man not to tell about his regained sight until later in the summer when he would send a pod of belugas to their campsite.

When summer came and the ice began to break, the belugas began to move. On one occasion, a pod was closer to land than usual. The young man grabbed his harpoon and told his sister to accompany him to help him aim. They went to the shoreline and the mother, seeing the son with a harpoon, became concerned and followed them. Once she was close to them, the son gave the end of the line from the harpoon to his mother, asking her to tie it around her waist to hold the harpooned animal. The concerned mother told her daughter to make sure he was after a small animal as she was tied to the harpoon. The son instead aimed for the largest whale and harpooned him. The mother was cast into the sea. As she submerged she spiraled around the line, with her long hair twisting into a long lance. This is how the narwhal came to be.

In medieval times, Europeans believed the narwhal tusk was the horn from the legendary unicorn and it came with all the unicorn's magical powers. Believed to cure poisoning and melancholia, Vikings and other northern traders sold the horns for more than their weight in gold.

The name narwhal comes from the old Norse word "nar" which means corpse, referencing the blue-grayish, mottled pigmentation like that of a drowned sailor (calves are actually born brown, with no spots). The scientific name, Monodon monoceros, is a Greek derivative meaning "one-tooth one-horn" or "one-toothed unicorn". The narwhal, or narwhale as it is also known, is a medium-sized, toothed whale that lives year-round in the Canadian Arctic and Greenlandic waters, and whose closest relative is the beluga whale.

This fascinating horn is actually a very long tooth. All narwhals are born with 2 teeth in their upper jaw. After the first year of life, the male narwhal's left tooth grows outward in a counterclockwise spiral. The tooth can grow upwards of 7 to 10 feet long. The function of the tooth is not exactly known. It has been suggested it might be used as a display of dominance during rivalry or courtship, it may aid in obtaining food, or even be used to amplify sonar pulses emitted by the narwhal, but it has not been shown to be used as a weapon. "Tusking" is a behavior displayed by males when they rub their tusks against one another, possibly to determine dominance within the group.

Narwhals travel in pods of 4 (keeping to generally smaller groups under the winter ice cap)  up to 20 in the summer, feeding on fish, shrimp and squid. In winter, they eat benthic critters (flat fish) as deep as 4900 ft (1500 m) under the arctic ice. They are the deepest diving mammals. Their dives can last anywhere from 7 to 25 minutes. Sometimes these groups fall victim to the shifting ice pack, get trapped and are hunted by Inuit, polar bears, orcas, or walruses. In the summer they congregate in larger groups, in shallower ice-free waters.

Narwhals are very vocal creatures, making clicks, squeals and whistles to communicate and/or navigate.

Paul Nicklen/National Geographic/Getty Images

Fast Facts
Type:  Mammal
Diet:  Carnivore
Size:  13 to 20 ft
         (4 to 6.1m)
Weight:  3,500 lbs 
             (1,600 kg)
At Birth: 5 ft; 175 lbs
Max Life Span:  50 yrs

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narwhal
[2] http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales/species/Narwhal.shtml
[3] http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/narwhal/
[4] http://www.narwhal.org/IntuitLegend.html

Be a Hero with a "Save-A-Dive Kit"

Ever been all set to go for a dive and at the last minute your buddy realizes he’s forgotten something, or worse, some piece of your equipment has broken, and you had to call the dive? Wasn’t that just the worst? Or even worse, what if this happened to you on your trip-of-a-lifetime in that exotic destination you had always dreamed of diving?

Recently, on a SoCal live-aboard trip I led for a weekend of diving, we had many different equipment issues pop up that could have ended diving for several people on board.  If it were a local beach dive, that might not have been such a big deal, but being stuck sitting on the boat all weekend while everyone else is diving really isn’t all that much fun. And for me, it is not an option at all.

When I pay to go on a trip to get several dives in (especially in a new location), I want to make sure I am prepared for any unexpected events, such as gear malfunctions.  So I would like to talk a bit about some of those unexpected events and what you, as a well-prepared diver, can do to save the dive.

We all know scuba is a pretty gear intensive sport, so there could be a number of things that might go wrong that you can be prepared for.  Let’s start with some of the easy fixes with basic equipment: masks, fins, mouthpieces, snorkels and streamlining clips.  Having a spare strap or two for masks and fins is always a great idea.  Extra snorkel keepers are also a good thing to have around, as well as spare gear clips for streamlining (including retractors).  For those divers who have a tendency to bite down harder on their mouthpiece than they need to, having an extra one for yourself or a dive buddy can come in handy.  It’s always nice to make sure everyone has their equipment streamlined.  Spare clips for your’s or your buddy’s hoses are an easy thing to carry extra of.  Remember it might be you that has to use your buddy’s octo.  Do you really want it dragging around in the sand because he forgot his clip?  Another simple piece of gear that is great to have on hand is a box of spare o-rings.


Now let’s move on to something that takes a little bit more thought: BCD’s and dive computers.  Even though we take care of our gear, once in a great while something is bound to break.  The bcd has many areas of concern, such as buckles, straps and weight pouches.  Of those, the one that poses the most common problem is the weight pouches.  They generally do not break, but they do fall out on occasion for different reasons.  If you lose one, there is no safe way to do the dive without proper weighting.  Having a spare pouch (or if you’re “old school”, a spare weight belt) or two will come in handy.  And if you have changed out your original bcd tank strap for maybe a quick release type, you might just want to keep the old one in your dive bag just in case.

Now to what I think is the biggest issue that might end your dive: the dive computer.  Atomic and Suunto make great computers, but remember they are just that, an electronic device.  The main reason any computer might fail is often the battery.  Make sure you check the battery status before you go on your dive, and always have a replacement battery available.  If you can’t replace the battery yourself, you might have a tech nearby that knows how to do it for you.  And while I am on the subject of batteries, make sure you have a spare one for the transmitter to your air-integrated computer.  Another great idea is to have a completely separate computer.  Yes, you should be diving with two computers on your body, just in case.  If one of your computers fails during your dive, you are still able to continue on because you you’re your backup computer.  I really don’t know too many professional divers who dive with just one dive computer.  It just makes sense to have redundancy when it comes to such important equipment. 

So to make sure you have a worry free dive, you should carry with you what we call a “Save-A-Dive Kit”.  This will help to make sure you, or your buddy, can still make the dive no matter where you are, beach or boat.  Unfortunately, we cannot fix everything in the field, but for 99 percent of the issues that may come up, we can.  It doesn't have to be anything fancy. Just make sure your kit has the spare items that will keep you from calling your dive.  If you have any questions about what to put into your kit, talk to your instructor or go to your local dive shop.  If you are one of those people who don’t think it is necessary to have a kit, I have a question for you.  Why do we carry a spare tire in our vehicles?  How often does a tire go out on us?  Better safe than sorry – right?  One last thing, the kit does not have to be just for your dive gear.  Don’t forget about your underwater camera.