Narwhal - Mortality and Conservation

Mortality and Conservation

Normally, narwhals can live quite a long life, with lifespans of up to at least 50 years recorded. Mortality often occurs when the narwhals suffocate after they fail to leave before the surface of the Arctic waters freezes over in the late fall. Starvation can also threaten their lives, especially in young whales. Although almost all modern predation of narwhals is by humans, a few natural predators also attack them on occasion. The primary natural predators are polar bears, who attempt to swipe narwhals at breathing holes and mainly target young whales, and killer whales (or orcas), pods of which can overwhelm a narwhal. Greenland sharks and walruses may take a few small young or weak and wounded adults, though this is likely quite rare. Inuit people are allowed to hunt this whale species legally for subsistence. Narwhal has been extensively hunted the same way as other sea mammals, such as seals and whales, for its large quantities of fat which constituted one of the most important ingredients of the native people living in arctic regions. Almost all parts of the narwhal, meat, skin, blubber and organs are consumed. Mattak, the name for raw skin and blubber, is considered a delicacy, and the bones are used for tools and art. The skin is an important source of vitamin C which is otherwise difficult to obtain. In some places in Greenland, such as Qaanaaq, traditional hunting methods are used, and whales are harpooned from handmade kayaks. In other parts of Greenland and Northern Canada, high-speed boats and hunting rifles are used.

Narwhal have been found to be one of the most vulnerable arctic marine mammals to climate change. The study quantified the vulnerabilities of 11 year-round Arctic sea mammals. Narwhals that have been brought into captivity tend to die of unnatural causes. The world population is currently estimated to be around 75,000 individuals. Approximately 25,000-50,000 breeding narwhal are believed to exist in the wild worldwide.