White Whales

Belugas and Narwhals Fish Arctic Waters

Feb 20, 2008 John Blatchford

Two related species are adapted to a life among the northern ice floes.

There are two species of whale in the Family Monodontidae, and both are sometimes known as ‘white whales’. Only the adult Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) is really white, the Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) is usually a mottled black and white. Both are Arctic animals.

Beluga

Vancouver Aquarium has ‘Beluga Encounters’ where you can get up close to them (at a price) and feed and touch these sociable animals. You can also watch them from here at Beluga Cam (for free!). However you encounter Belugas you will find them enchanting. They sing like canaries, can move their heads around and smile a bit, and are extremely inquisitive. Unfortunately there are only 100,000 of them left in the wild, and they are considered ‘vulnerable’ – particularly since their movement into freshwater exposes them to man’s pollution on a regular basis. (The Cook Inlet population is in serious trouble.)

Beluga Song

Arctic fishermen called Belugas ‘sea canaries’ because of their incessant chatter (it can be heard from the surface), and at over 200dB it is second only to the calls of Sperm Whales in loudness. Belugas undoubtedly use much of this chattiness to communicate with one-another, but they also focus some of the clicks through the ‘melon’ on their head to give them phenomenal echo-location. They can move their head around a bit (unique among whales) and so are able to direct their ‘acoustic beam’ to look for holes in the ice where they can surface to breathe. (Bowhead Whales have a much more direct approach to this problem – they simply crash up through any obstacle!).

Watch a ‘National Geographic’ Video which shows the sociability of Belugas and discusses their echo-location, singing and migration into freshwater to shed their old skin.

Narwhals

The Narwhal is only found in the Arctic, even further north than the Beluga. It never migrates to warm waters, and therefore relatively little is known about it (most scientists like to keep warm!). The exact size of the populations (one in the North Atlantic and a smaller one in the North Pacific) is unknown, but estimated at around 50,000 – and there is not enough information to decide whether they are endangered or not. Their way of living might make them susceptible to climate change and warmer water.

Narwhal Tusk

Perhaps the most unusual thing about the Narwhal is the incredibly long tusk that the male carries poking out in front. It is actually a modified tooth and can be ten foot long. Surprise, surprise – nobody really knows what it is for! It is certainly not used to spear fish (how would they get them off again?), and not to poke enemies – but it might be used for display (it is usually only males that have them) or some sort of gentle ‘jousting’. The tusk is hollow and has a good nerve supply, so some biologists think it might be sensory in some way, or even involved in echo-location of prey (but if this were its function why only in the males?). Whatever its function for the Narwhal it has been used by climate scientists to attach transmitters which allow detailed study of water temperature in the Arctic Ocean.

Unicorns

The Narwhal tusk gave rise to the many unicorn legends, with the unicorn usually thought to be some sort of a horse. The horn was supposed to have magical properties, and unicorns could only be tamed by female virgins!

Main reference: Collins Wild Guide – ‘Whales and Dolphins’ by Mark Carwardine, 2006.

Other articles by John Blatchford

The copyright of the article White Whales in Marine Biology & Oceanography is owned by John Blatchford. Permission to republish White Whales in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

'Virgin and Unicorn'