How drones are helping in elusive 'unicorn' research
Researchers, led by Greg O’Corry-Crowe of Florida Atlantic University, used drones to spy on the private lives of narwhals off Somerset Island in the Canadian Arctic. They discovered that the tusks are not just for show but have multiple functions.
The unicorn in Britain's Royal Coat of Arms represents Scotland. It seems an unlikely symbol — real-world unicorns, narwhals, seldom venture south of cold sub-Arctic seas. They are only ‘occasional guests’ even in Iceland and none has been recorded off Ireland.
Carcasses wash ashore on beaches occasionally, but there is only one documented sighting of a live narwhal in Scottish waters. The Scots have no stronger links to the ‘unicorn of the sea’ than the English have to their symbolic animal, the lion.
First mentioned in a Greek treatise around 400BC, belief in the existence of unicorns has persisted. The great philosopher-mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz sketched one. Spiral horns, thought to have magical powers, featured prominently in medieval ‘panda diplomacy’. Pope Clement VII presented one to Francois I of France; and bishops incorporated them in processional crosses. In 1638 Ole Worm, of Copenhagen University, ‘outed’ the exotic beast in a scholarly thesis. The mysterious horns, he declared, belong to narwhals.
Thanks to the male’s spectacular tusk, the narwhal is an iconic, instantly recognisable creature. Apparently the name comes from Icelandic meaning ‘corpse whale’ — old narwhals become almost white, resembling carcasses that have long drifted in the sea.
Despite the public profile, the behaviour and lifestyle of the elusive narwhal are not at all well known. But that may be about to change, thanks to the arrival of a new technology... the drone.
This toothed whale has only two teeth, one on each side of its mouth. When a male ‘pup’ is about three years old, the left tooth begins to extend outwards. It continues growing throughout the animal’s life. Spiral-shaped, tusks are typically about two metres long. Some reach three metres — more than half the length of the animal’s body.
The tusk has puzzled scientists. Like a medieval knight’s lance, it is ideal for sporting jousts, but it seems too long and unwieldy to serve as an effective defensive weapon. Is it, therefore, just the narwhal equivalent of the red deer’s antlers, an appendage informing females of its owner’s suitability as a potential sexual partner and intimidating rivals with shorter tusks?
Interesting article and footage showing narwhals using their tusks to not only catch fish but engage in what appears to be playful behaviour.
— Marine Connection (@MC_org) March 10, 2025
Dubbed the unicorns of the sea, narwhals are beautiful marine mammals and live only in Arctic waters.https://t.co/xAXhzqgIVN
The underwater behaviour of the secretive narwhal has been almost impossible to study until now, but a lesson learned from submarine warfare has come to the rescue. Submerged objects can be spotted from an aircraft flying directly overhead. Likewise, using a drone hovering above the water, researchers can see much of what is happening below the surface.
Researchers, led by Greg O’Corry-Crowe of Florida Atlantic University, used drones to spy on the private lives of narwhals off Somerset Island in the Canadian Arctic. They discovered that the tusks are not just for show but have multiple functions.
"Narwhals were recorded chasing char and using their tusks to hit, manipulate, and influence the behaviour of fish," the authors say in a paper just published. Tusks are also used to investigate and manipulate objects. They can deliver sufficient force to stun, even to kill, a fish: "Cat and mouse’ type behaviour has been recorded in which an adult narwhal plays with a fish in order to teach its offspring life-skills."
