Narwhal

Narwhal

Oh look, it's a unicorn Mummy! Only it's fat- and fishlike- and its- its- Oh. It's not a unicorn, it's a narwhal! Part of the whale family, a narwhal is easily distinguished by it's unicornlike horn. They are near threatened, no thanks to the ivory in their horns. Many people shoot and kill narwhals just for the tusk. You'd think they'd get enough from elephants!

Narwhals live in the Arctic year-round. They feed on fish and eggs, among other things, and sometimes rocks are even found in their guts from feeding near the bottom of the ocean near wintertime. How something that big can be stupid enough to ingest a rock, I don't know. But then again, my dog does the same thing, so I can't complain.

Narwhals are special in ways though. In winter, they make the deepest dives ever recorded by a sea animal, sometimes diving below 2000 feet. Guess all of those rocks in their gut help after all ... but to get back to their diving. They can stay 2000 feet below for up to 25 minutes, which doesn't include the transition up and down from the top to the bottom.

There is some interesting stories behind narwhals. Some people say they were created when a woman with the harpoon rope around her waist was dragged off to sea by the creature she caught, and transformed into a whale, and since she was wearing her hair in a twisted braid, it became the narwhals' horn. Another legend says that the horns are magical, and can cure illness. Regardless, they are still worth a TON of money.