Curious About Narwhals

PODCAST 162: CURIOUS ABOUT NARWHALS

RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 7TH, 2021

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  WE GET LOTS OF TOPIC SUGGESTIONS FROM OUR AMAZING LISTENERS AND ALMOST HALF OF THOSE TOPICS ARE DIFFERENT ANIMALS.  WE TRY TO LIMIT OURSELVES TO ONLY 3 OR 4 ANIMAL TOPICS PER SEASON, SO WE CAN MAKE SURE WE ARE ALWAYS GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT A WIDE VARIETY OF THINGS.  THIS WEEK, WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT A SUPER-DUPER INTERESTING ANIMAL THAT I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW EXISTED UNTIL JUST A FEW YEARS AGO.  

O:  DOUBLE MAILBAG!

D:  DOUBLE MAILBAG!

“HI OLIVIA AND JACOB!  I’M LILA, I LIVE IN SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, AND I’M 9.  I REALLY REALLY LIKE YOUR PODCAST.  IT ENTERTAINS ME FOR HOURS AT A TIME.  I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD GET CURIOUS ABOUT EITHER EMOJIS OR NARWHALS.  

SINCERELY, LILA”.

*INSERT LOLA AUDIO*

O:  WOW, THAT WAS AN AMAZING VOICEMAIL FROM LOLA OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.  WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT NARWHALS FOR LILA AND LOLA THIS WEEK.  NARWHALS ARE AWESOME!

D:  THEY ARE TOTALLY AWESOME, AND I CAN’T WAIT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THEM.  WHAT’S THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK?

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, ARE THERE ANY NARWHALS IN CAPTIVITY?  IN OTHER WORDS, CAN YOU EVER FIND A NARWHAL AT A ZOO OR AN AQUARIUM?

D:  THAT’S AN INTERESTING QUESTION.  WHILE YOU’RE THINKING ABOUT THE ANSWER, LET’S LEARN MORE ABOUT THESE FASCINATING AND UNIQUE ANIMALS.  SINCE THERE ARE PROBABLY MANY PEOPLE LISTENING THAT DON’T KNOW WHAT A NARWHAL IS, I THINK IT MAKES SENSE TO START OFF BY DESCRIBING A NARWHAL.

O:  NARWHALS ARE MAMMALS THAT LIVE IN THE SEA.  THEY ARE CLOSELY RELATED TO BELUGA WHALES.  

D:  THEY EVEN RESEMBLE BELUGA WHALES A LITTLE BIT, BUT THERE IS ONE BIG, OBVIOUS DIFFERENCE YOU WILL NOTICE ABOUT NARWHALS.

O:  IT IS THAT NARWHALS HAVE A TUSK STICKING OUT OF THEIR FACE.

D:  AND, THAT’S WHY THEY ARE OFTEN REFERRED TO AS THE UNICORN OF THE SEA.  IF YOU LISTENED TO EPISODE 85, CURIOUS ABOUT UNICORNS, YOU KNOW THAT PEOPLE USED TO SELL UNICORN HORNS FOR RIDICULOUS AMOUNTS OF MONEY, BECAUSE THE UNICORN HORNS WERE BELIEVED TO HAVE MAGICAL HEALING POWERS.

O:  THERE’S ONLY ONE PROBLEM, THOUGH.  UNICORNS DON’T ACTUALLY EXIST.  THE HORNS THAT WERE BEING SOLD WERE REALLY NARWHAL TUSKS.

D:  THERE’S ANOTHER PROBLEM TOO.  NARWHAL TUSKS ARE NOT MAGICAL AND THEY AREN’T HEALING EITHER.  

O:  BUT THEY ARE REALLY INTERESTING.  YOU WOULDN’T BELIEVE HOW NARWHALS GROW THEIR TUSKS.

D:  SO, A NARWHAL TUSK IS ACTUALLY A TOOTH.  IT’S VERY DIFFERENT THAN A HUMAN TOOTH THOUGH.  HUMAN TEETH ARE SOFT ON THE INSIDE, BUT HAVE A HARD OUTER SHELL.  THE NARWHAL TUSK IS JUST THE OPPOSITE.  IT IS HARD INSIDE BUT IT IS COVERED IN A SOFTER, MORE FLEXIBLE, OUTER LAYER.  

O:  ANOTHER BIG DIFFERENCE IS THAT THE NARWHAL TOOTH, OR TUSK, CAN GROW UP TO 10 FEET LONG.  I DON’T THINK YOU’LL FIND MANY HUMANS WITH TEETH THAT ARE 10 FEET LONG.

D:  THANKFULLY, I THINK YOU’RE RIGHT.  TO GET AN IDEA OF HOW LONG THAT IS, THE AVERAGE BASKETBALL HOOP IS 10 FEET OFF THE GROUND.  THAT’S A REALLY LONG TUSK.  

O:  THERE ARE OTHER ANIMALS THAT HAVE TUSKS, LIKE ELEPHANTS AND WALRUSES, BUT EVEN THOSE TUSKS ARE DIFFERENT THAN A NARWHAL TUSK.

D:  FOR STARTERS, THOSE ANIMALS HAVE 2 TUSKS EACH.  MOST NARWHALS JUST HAVE ONE REALLY LONG TUSK.  ALSO, THE TUSKS OF ELEPHANTS AND WALRUSES ARE CURVED, WHILE THE NARWHAL TUSK IS LONG AND STRAIGHT.

O:  BUT, THE COOLEST THING ABOUT THE NARWHAL TUSK IS THAT IT SPIRALS, JUST LIKE WE IMAGINE A UNICORN HORN SPIRALS.  

D:  THAT IS REALLY COOL.  BUT GET READY FOR THE SUPER CRAZY NARWHAL FACT OF THE WEEK THAT YOU PROBABLY WON’T BELIEVE.  THE TUSKS OF ELEPHANTS AND WALRUSES GROW OUT OF THEIR MOUTHS.  THE NARWHAL TUSK GROWS A BIT DIFFERENTLY.  

O:  A NARWHAL’S TUSK GROWS THROUGH IT’S HEAD, AND THAT’S JUST CRAZINESS.  

D:  BABY NARWHALS START WITH A SMALL TOOTH, BUT AS THE NARWHAL GETS OLDER AND OLDER, THE TOOTH GROWS AND GROWS.  FINALLY IT GETS LONG ENOUGH WHERE IT RUNS OUT OF ROOM AND HAS TO PUNCH THROUGH THE NARWHAL’S LIP TO KEEP GROWING AND GROWING.         

O:  ALL MALE NARWHALS HAVE TUSKS BUT ONLY SOME FEMALES DO. 

D:  THERE ARE EVEN SOME NARWHALS THAT HAVE 2 TUSKS, BUT THOSE ARE VERY RARE.  ABOUT ONE OUT OF EVERY 500 MALE NARWHALS HAS 2 TUSKS.  

O:  SO, WHAT DO NARWHALS USE THEIR AMAZING TUSKS FOR?

D:  WE THINK THEY USE THEIR TUSKS FOR 3 BIG THINGS.  THEY USE THEM TO SENSE THE AREA AROUND THEM, THE SAME WAY WE MAY USE OUR HANDS TO SENSE OUR SURROUNDINGS.  THEY USE THEIR TUSKS TO COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER TOO.  THEY EVEN USE THEIR TUSKS TO HELP THEM CATCH FOOD.  

O:  DO THEY STAB FISH WITH THEIR TUSKS?

D:  THEY ACTUALLY DON’T DO THAT, AND I WOULD HAVE GUESSED THE SAME THING.  WHAT THEY DO IS THAT THEY SLAP THEIR PREY WITH THEIR TUSK TO CONFUSE THEM BEFORE SUCKING THE PREY INTO THEIR MOUTHS, KIND OF USING THEIR MOUTHS LIKE A VACUUM, AND SWALLOWING THEIR FOOD WHOLE.  

O:  NARWHALS EAT MOSTLY SHRIMP, SQUID, AND FISH, AND THEY EAT A LOT.  NARWHALS EAT ABOUT 60 OR 70 POUNDS OF FOOD IN A SINGLE DAY.    

D:  I GUESS THAT EXPLAINS WHY NARWHALS ARE SO BIG.  THE MALE NARWHALS WEIGH ABOUT 3500 POUNDS, AND THE FEMALES ARE A LOT SMALLER AT A MEASLY 2200 POUNDS OR SO.  NARWHAL BABIES CAN ALREADY BE 5 FEET LONG AT BIRTH, AND THE MALES WILL GROW TO BE UP TO 20 FEET LONG WHILE THE FEMALES ARE ABOUT HALF AS LONG.    

O:  NARWHALS HAVE PREDATORS THAT THEY HAVE TO WATCH OUT FOR, AND THOSE INCLUDE ORCAS AND POLAR BEARS. 

D:  AS MUCH AS WE KNOW ABOUT NARWHALS, THERE IS STILL A LOT THAT WE DON’T KNOW.  THAT’S BECAUSE NARWHALS LIVE IN REMOTE AREAS, MAKING THEM HARD TO STUDY.  THEY LIVE IN THE FRIGID COLD ARCTIC WATERS OF CANADA, GREENLAND, NORWAY, AND RUSSIA.

O:  THEY ALSO LOVE DIVING DEEP INTO THE OCEAN.  THEY CAN DIVE OVER A MILE DOWN WITHOUT RETURNING TO THE SURFACE.

D:  BECAUSE THEY ARE MAMMALS, THEY NEED TO EVENTUALLY COME UP TO THE SURFACE TO TAKE A BREATH, BUT THEY CAN GO FOR OVER 25 MINUTES ON A SINGLE BREATH.  

O:  MANY NARWHALS DIVE DEEP INTO THE OCEAN BETWEEN 10 AND 25 TIMES PER DAY.  

D:  SO, BECAUSE THEY LIVE IN THE EXTREMELY COLD ARCTIC WATER AND THEY SPEND A BIG PORTION OF THEIR DAY GOING ON DEEP DIVES, THE NARWHALS ARE REALLY HARD FOR SCIENTISTS TO STUDY AND LEARN MORE ABOUT.  

OKAY OLIVIA, LET’S ANSWER THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  ARE ANY NARWHALS BEING KEPT IN CAPTIVITY?

O:  NO NARWHALS ARE IN CAPTIVITY.  THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW ATTEMPTS TO KEEP NARWHALS IN CAPTIVITY, BUT THEY DIDN’T GO WELL.

D:  IT TURNS OUT THAT NARWHALS CAN’T SURVIVE VERY LONG IN CAPTIVITY.  THEY NEED TO BE FREE AND DOING THEIR AWESOME NARWHAL THING.  NARWHALS LIVE FOR ABOUT 30 OR 40 YEARS IN THE SEA, WHERE THEY BELONG.

WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  162 - NARWHALS.

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB LILA AND LOLA FOR GIVING US A WHALE OF A TOPIC TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT.  BEFORE WE GO, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF PEOPLE TO THANK.  

O:  WE WANT TO THANK OUR NEWEST PATREON SUPPORTER, MICHA K.

D:  A BIG THANKS TO MICHA FOR HELPING TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST ON PATREON.  ALL OUR PATREON SUPPORTERS GET TONS OF EXTRA ACCESS TO THE PODCAST, INCLUDING EXCLUSIVE MONTHLY CURRENT EVENTS EPISODES.

O:  WE ALSO WANT TO THANK USERNAME MICHELLE2533 FOR LEAVING US AN AWESOME REVIEW.

D:  IT SAYS “FUN AND INFORMATIVE.  WE LOVE THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST BECAUSE THEY HAVE FUN DIGESTIBLE EPISODES THAT GIVE US TONS OF INTERESTING INFO IN A REALLY ENJOYABLE WAY.  MY SON IS SEVEN AND HE LOVES FACTS.  THIS PODCAST MAKES HIM FEEL LIKE AN EXPERT WHEN HE’S TELLING ALL HIS FRIENDS WHAT HE LEARNED THAT WEEK.”

O:  THAT WAS AMAZING.  THANKS FOR THE REVIEW.  REVIEWS MEAN SO MUCH TO US.

D:  THEY SURE DO, AND WE LOVE THAT YOUR SON IS SHARING THE FACTS HE LEARNED WITH HIS FRIENDS.  DID YOU KNOW THAT THAT’S WHY WE STARTED THIS PODCAST IN THE FIRST PLACE?  WHEN OLIVIA WAS 3 AND 4 YEARS OLD, WE USED TO LEARN ABOUT THINGS SHE WAS CURIOUS ABOUT BEFORE SHE FELL ASLEEP, AND THEN HER TEACHERS TOLD ME THAT SHE WAS TEACHING HER CLASSMATES WHAT SHE LEARNED FROM ME.  THAT’S WHEN WE HAD THE IDEA TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT THINGS, TOGETHER, BUT RECORD IT AND RELEASE IT AS A PODCAST, THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  JOIN US NEXT WEEK, WHEN WE WILL GET CURIOUS ABOUT COMPASSES FOR A LISTENER IN NORTH VANCOUVER, CANADA.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.