Narwhals, famous for their long, unicorn-like tusks, may use them for much more than display.

Drone research has revealed that they actively employ their tusks in hunting, stunning fish before eating them. The footage also suggests they engage in play and possibly social learning. These discoveries challenge long-standing assumptions and highlight how Arctic wildlife is adapting to environmental shifts.

The Mysterious Narwhal and Its Enigmatic Tusk

The narwhal (Monodon monoceros), a whale native to the remote Arctic, is best known for its long, spiral tusk — an elongated tooth that can grow up to 10 feet, primarily in males. This remarkable feature has inspired legends of unicorns and is believed to play a role in mating competition and display. However, its full purpose remains uncertain, as these elusive creatures are rarely observed using their tusks in the wild.

Because narwhals are difficult to study, many aspects of their behavior remain a mystery, including their social interactions, reproductive habits, and how they respond to environmental changes. Scientists also question whether they engage in behaviors unrelated to survival, such as play.

Groundbreaking Drone Research Captures Narwhals in Action

Now, for the first time, researchers using drones have captured narwhals employing their tusks in the wild. A team from Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, working alongside Inuit communities in Nunavut, filmed narwhals interacting with Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus). The footage reveals the whales using their tusks to investigate, manipulate, and even stun fish — possibly as a hunting technique. Scientists recorded 17 distinct behaviors, offering new insight into the complex interactions between narwhals, their prey, and even competing bird species.

Results of the study, published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, also reveal the first evidence of likely play, specifically exploratory-object play, in narwhals as well as other fascinating insights into narwhal behavior in a changing Arctic. Aspects of the narwhals’ actions for example, may also have included social learning, and possibly social instruction and personality differences among individual narwhal. These novel findings further enrich our understanding of narwhals’ complex behavior.

The Arctic’s iconic narwhal, renowned for its long, spiral tusk, is one of nature’s most fascinating creatures. Yet, few have witnessed how these elusive animals use their tusks in the wild. Credit: O’Corry-Crowe, FAU/Watt, DFO

Unexpected Social Interactions in the Arctic

Findings also provide the first reports of interactions between narwhal, fish and birds, including attempted kleptoparasitism, a “food thief” situation, among narwhals and glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus).

“Narwhals are known for their ‘tusking’ behavior, where two or more of them simultaneously raise their tusks almost vertically out of the water, crossing them in what may be a ritualistic behavior to assess a potential opponent’s qualities or to display those qualities to potential mates,” said Greg O’Corry-Crowe, Ph.D., senior author, a research professor at FAU Harbor Branch and a National Geographic Explorer. “But now we know that narwhal tusks have other uses, some quite unexpected, including foraging, exploration and play.”

Precision, Speed, and Playfulness with the Tusk

The narwhals exhibited remarkable dexterity, precision, and speed of movement of the tusk, and regularly made adjustments to track the moving target. The tusk, especially the tip of the tusk, was used to interrogate and manipulate the target by brief contacts, which typically elicited a response from the fish.

“I have been studying narwhal for over a decade and have always marveled at their tusks,” said Cortney Watt, Ph.D., co-author and research scientist and team lead at Fisheries and Oceans, Canada. “To observe them using their tusks for foraging and play is remarkable. This unique study, where we set up a remote field camp and spent time filming narwhal with drones, is yielding many interesting insights and is providing a bird’s eye view of their behavior that we have never seen before.”

Adapting to a Changing Arctic Environment

This research highlights how environmental changes might introduce new interspecies encounters, challenging Arctic species to adapt.

“Our observations provide clear evidence of narwhals chasing fish and using their tusks to interact directly with the fish and to influence the fish’s behavior,” said O’Corry-Crowe. “Some of the interactions we saw appeared competitive in nature with one whale blocking or trying to block another whale’s access to the same target fish, while others may have been more subtle, possibly communicative and even affiliative. None appeared overtly aggressive.”

Social behaviors among the whales – such as learning from one another – also suggest that social processes could speed up behavioral adaptation in response to Arctic changes.

Drones Offer a New Window into Narwhal Life

“To understand how narwhals are being affected by and adapting to the changing Arctic, field studies using innovative, non-invasive tools like drones are essential to observe them in their natural environment without disturbing them,” said O’Corry-Crowe. “Drones provide a unique, real-time view of their behavior, helping scientists gather crucial data on how narwhals are responding to shifts in ice patterns, prey availability and other environmental changes. Such studies are key to understanding the impact of global warming on these elusive animals.”

Reference: “Use of tusks by narwhals, Monodon monoceros, in foraging, exploratory, and play behavior” by Greg O’Corry-Crowe, Maha Ghazal, Mark Gillespie, Paul Galvin, Jason Harasimo, Luke Storrie and Cortney A. Watt, 3 February 2025, Frontiers in Marine Science.
DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1518605

Study co-authors are Maha Ghazal, Mark Gillespie and Luke Storrie, Fisheries and Oceans Canada; and Paul Galvin and Jason Harasimo, World Wildlife Fund, Canada. Watt also is an adjunct professor at the University of Manitoba.

The research was supported by Fisheries and Oceans Canada; FAU Harbor Branch; the National Geographic Society; the World Wildlife Fund Canada; the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board; and Natural Resources Canada’s Polar Continental Shelf Program.