Narwhal’s tusk is super sensitive

By Ella DaviesReporter, BBC Nature

Narwhals' distinctive long tusks are super sensitive, research has found.

The whales are known for their tusks which can reach 2.6m (9ft) in length, earning them comparisons with mythological unicorns.

The tusk is an exaggerated front tooth and scientists have discovered that it helps the animals sense changes in their environment.

Experts suggest males could use the tusks to seek out mates or food.

The results are published in the journal The Anatomical Record.

Dr Martin Nweeia from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, US, undertook the study alongside an international team of colleagues.

Through the years, many theories have tried to explain the function of the narwhal's impressive tusk.

"People have said it's everything from an ice pick to an acoustic probe, but this is the first time that someone has discovered sensory function and has the science to show it," said Dr Nweeia.

Continued

Tenn. man to plead guilty to smuggling narwhal whale tusks through Bangor in scheme run by ex-Mountie

BANGOR, Maine — One of two Americans and a Canadian charged in a cross-border case of smuggling rare narwhal tusks into the U.S. from Canada is scheduled to plead guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court to charges connected with the operation.

Jay Gus Conrad, 67, of Lakeland, Tenn., is expected to plead guilty to some or all of the charges on which he, Andrew J. Zarauskas, 60, of Union, N.J., and Gregory Robert Logan, 56, of Woodmans Point, New Brunswick, Canada, and Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, were indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2012 .

All three are charged with multiple counts of conspiracy to import merchandise, conspiracy to launder money, smuggling goods into the U.S. and money laundering.

Read on ...

Andrew Zarauskas, Jay Conrad Plead Not Guilty To Narwhal Tusk Smuggling

Tusk, tusk.

Andrew Zarauskas, of Union, N.J., and Jay Conrad, of Lakeland, Tenn. pleaded not guilty Friday to smuggling narwhal tusks from Canada into Maine, The Bangor Daily News reported.

Authorities say the two men brought the tusks from Canada inside a trailer with a secret compartment, then illegally sold them in the United States.

Narwhals are known as the "unicorns of the sea" due to their spiraled, horn-like ivory tusks. The narwhal tusk is actually a tooth that protrude from the upper jaw, according to Defenders of Wildlife.

The Inuit are legally allowed to hunt narwhals for subsistence, and often sell the tusks for profit. Some buyers believe the tusks have supernatural powers, while others wish to use them for display purposes or make them into jewelry. Tusks can sell for up to $30,000 apiece, according to the New York Times, but typically go for between between $1,000 and $7,000 each, Furcanada president Calvin Kania told the Associated Press.

Importing narwhal tusks into several countries -- including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia -- is illegal.

Zaruaskas and Conrad, who were arrested in December, are charged with conspiracy, conspiracy to launder money, smuggling goods into the United States and money laundering.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/13/andrew-zarauskas-jary-conrad-narwhal-tusk-smuggling-_n_2467570.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

Possible Narwhal stranding in Liscannor Bay, Co. Clare?

Before you ask; No, this is not an April Fools prank. While most IWDG personnel were in Galway at ECS during the week, a possible new species was recorded for Irish waters.

The stranded cetacean was seen on Sunday 25th by Max Halliday near the Rock shop in Liscannor, and was reported to IWDG by phone on Mon. 26th March. Alas, the message was only picked up by us on our return from the conference on Fri. 30th.

The description as provided to us was of a cetacean that was larger than a dolphin at c15ft, with no dorsal fin, but most interestingly with a spiral tusk, about the length of a hurley, protruding from its head. Of course the first question in this situation is...do you have any photos? and of course the answer was...NO!

But Max was pretty sure that this observation was not a run of the mill event and went home and looked up some books and the more he looked the more confident he became that what he saw was indeed a Narwhal. So we immediately made phone calls and within the hour Simon Berrow & Conor Ryan, IWDG and Joanne O Brien, GMIT and others were onsite.

Frustratingly, the carcass was missing, but they found where it had been and the grease stain indeed suggested an animal larger than a bottlenose dolphin. So the big question is where are the remains? Given the calm seas of the past week, it is unlikely that it was washed back out to sea, and so perhaps a member of the public found it, and realising its significance, removed it.

Read on:  http://www.iwdg.ie/article.asp?id=2542

Narwhal tracking project helps chart species’ future

Canada - WWF is supporting a new project to track narwhals, Arctic whales best known for the long tusk that projects forward from their faces.

The project partners fitted the little-researched whales with satellite tracking devices. WWF is also launching a web page to showcase the partners’ fieldwork and research, with maps and information about the latest movements of the narwhals as they move around Baffin Bay in Canada’s Nunavut territory.

Pete Ewins, Arctic species specialist for WWF-Canada, said that it is expected the project will contribute fascinating information about the habits of narwhals.

“We’re supporting this project because it is a chance to better understand these animals while their world changes around them. We know Narwhals are often associated with sea ice, and we know the sea ice is shrinking. WWF is trying to understand how narwhals, as well as all other ice associated animals in the arctic can adapt to a changing environment. We can put this knowledge together with existing Inuit knowledge, and we can work with Inuit and other stakeholders to help the animals survive the coming changes.”

Read on...

Feds seek resolution to narwhal tusk trade ban

Ottawa wants to resolve a simmering dispute with Nunavut communities over the export of Narwhal ivory, the federal fisheries minister said, during an annual meeting in Iqaluit this week.

Keith Ashfield, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, said the restrictions on the international export of narwhal tusks and related from products from 17 communities was partly imposed due to international concern.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans had said narwhal in certain Nunavut communities were being overhunted.

"Hopefully we can come to some sort of resolution on this issue," Ashfield said during the meeting of the Canadian Council of Fisheries and Aquacultures Ministers.

"This is something that is being driven by other organizations, and hopefully we can come to some common ground on this."

Court challenge nixed

The federal government is commited to finding a solution that works for both sides, Ashfield said.
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., which advocates for the territory's Inuit, wanted to challenge the ban in court, but stepped back from legal action in June.

The two-day session that brought fisheries officials from across Canada to Iqaluit focused on Canada's place in the global seafood market and environmental concerns.

Nunavut's environment minister, Daniel Shewchuk, also used the opportunity to press for a greater share of fish stocks off the territory's coast.

Shewchuk said he took time to ask the minister about greater access to turbot quotas in Nunavut waters.

Nunavut turbot quota increases possible

"He is aware that it is very important that we get our share, and be comparable to other jurisdictions," Shewchuk said.

Nunavut fishermen control 100 per cent of the turbot fishery in North Baffin, but off the southern half of Baffin Island, only 41 per cent of the catch is allotted to Nunavummiut.

It was even less two years ago, until Ottawa increased Nunavut's share.

Ashfield said on Thursday that further increases were possible.

But he would not commit to transferring part of existing quotas allotted to other provinces in that area to Nunavut.

"If there are further increases in quota, we'll look very favourably upon Nunavut. Obviously it's very important for the growth of the fishery in this region."

Ashfield says support for Nunavut's fishery fits with the Conservative plan for sovereignty in the Arctic.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/story/2011/09/02/north-narwhal-ivory-fisheries-meeting.html