Kit is a representative. It belongs to the “whaling” detachment, the “Narvalovy” family. Males have a long direct tusk. The type of Narwal is unique, and the mind has a special development.
Description
Narvals mainly live in a pack. Flocks are 3-8 individuals, and sometimes counts up to twenty animals. Male and females with cubs gather separately in them. Narvals constantly communicate with sharp sounds in the form:
A distinctive feature of Narl is the presence of a male a long horn or tusk, about three meters long. The tivne horn is solid, but flexible enough.
Narvals live in the waters of the Arctic zone for almost the whole year. They migrate in accordance with the movement of ice: in the winter they move to the southern, and in the summer season to the northern zone.
In the summer, Narval lives in deepsea places, and winter in water spaces between ice. When the wormwood freezes, the male destroys the ice barrier, striking his back or tusk.
Narvals have life expectancy 35-56 years.
Appearance
Narwal has a round head, not very large, with a protruding frontal part. Muzzle and nose rounded. The whale does not have a dorsal fin, but there is an education in the form of a ridge on the back. Its length is 5 centimeters, and the height lies from 60 to 90 centimeters.
Adults are painted from above in dark gray or brown color, and the lower part has a lighter color. The whole body is covered with a spotted pattern.
The animal has no lower teeth. The upper jaw is equipped with two teeth. The male’s left tooth passes through the lip and continues in the form of a direct tusk. There is a spiral pattern on the tusk.
The tusk can have a maximum length of three meters and reach a weight of ten kilograms. There are times that the tusk grows out of the right tooth, but rarely.
Females basically do not have tusks, but it happens that they meet tusks. The tusk is durable and flexible, it is able to bend in any direction, but does not break. At the end, the tusk is polished, and the part located closer to the head is entangled in algae. In the internal cavity of the bilan-rog, the ends of the nerve cells and blood vessels are contained.
The tusk is used by a narwal for the following purposes:
Dimensions and weight
Sama narvali have a body length of about 470 centimeters, and in females the length is 400 centimeters. The average weight of males is 2.5 tons. Females are much smaller. Their weight is about 900-1000 kilograms.
One third of the mass of the Narwal is fat, which serves as a reliable protection from the cold.
Where they live
Narvali inhabitants of the harsh northern edge. They live:
Several small groups were registered in the north-eastern part of the coast of the Franz Joseph land and north of the island of Wrangel.
What they eat
Narvals swim very well, but in the absence of a sufficient number of teeth, they feed on small organisms. They swallow them in its entirety. The diet of the animal is:
Hunting for prey, Narval holds his breath well and drops to a depth of 400 meters.
Lifestyle
Narvals are usually combined into packs. They can have 7-10 animals. But single individuals are also found.
Narval in winter cold, saved by immersion to great depths, up to 1,500 meters. Periodically, it pops up above the water surface for swallowing air, then again lowers into the deep water. During the day, Narval has to make up to 25 dives. Diving the animal vertically, this allows you to achieve greater speed. Also, a thick layer of subcutaneous fat protects from the low temperature of the animal.
In the spring-summer season, Narvals live at small depths up to 300 meters. Their feed base is pack ice. And in the fall, Narvals migrate in the southern regions located in 65-70 degrees of north latitude.
Reproduction
Mating from Narvalov is carried out from March to May. Between the males there is a clarification of relations during the marriage period. The winning male creates a small harem near him and protects him from rivals. Copulation occurs in a vertical state. From July to August next year, children are born.
Pregnancy in the female lasts about 15 months. The female reproduces offspring with an interval of two to three years. One baby is usually born, but rare cases of twins were observed.
Kitenok is born forward by the tail of the body. As soon as the baby was born, the female immediately pushes him out of the water. He gets the first sip of air.
In a newborn Narl, the body has a length of 1.6 meters with a mass of 80 kilograms. In subcutaneous fat, the thickness is 2.5 centimeters. The baby’s skin is painted in a grayish-blue color. During the first days of life, the cubs are constantly near the mother. Then the female can leave it for a short time on the surface of the water to absorb a portion of food.
The duration of feeding the cubs of the female-20-24 months. After the end of the lactation period, the cub leaves the mother and joins the youth group.
Physical and puberty in males occurs at the age of eight, and in females it is formed by five years.
Enemies
Polar predators are hunting for Narvalov. They can ruthlessly deal with them:
Hiding from predators, Narwal has to dive to great depths and hide under the ice. Also an enemy of animals is a person. He exterminated them for decades.
Killed enemy Narvalov
Population and security status
The number of narwals, according to scientists, is approximately 50,000. It is difficult to name the exact figure, since they live in places that are hard to reach people.
There is no decrease in the number of Narval on a global scale, but the view is approaching the position “vulnerable” and is attributed to the third rare category. Narwal was included in the lists of the International Red Book.
The disappearance of the species is facilitated by the following reasons:
Due to the fact that the number of the type of began to decline, the fishery of the Narval was limited: it is forbidden to extract the cubs and females, males are allowed to extract only the indigenous peoples of the North.
Special quotas for prey in Greenland and Canada have been introduced. Interstate and regional agreements have been adopted related to measures to preserve the environmental environment of oceans.
Interesting Facts
- Males of Narvalov’s weight three times more females.
- If the tank has a tusk, then it will not grow again.
- Narvals do not survive in captivity, they die very quickly. In the wild, the Narvals live 50-56 years old.
- “Carbon (dead) whale” this is how “hacked” from the Icelandic language translates.
- If the tap is angry, then it is able to drown the boat. A highstrength tusk can break through the sides of a small vessel.
- Когда нарвалу необходимо набрать воздуха, он может сломать лёд либо бивнем, либо спиной. He breaks the fivecentimeter thickness of ice easily.
