What is a Narwhal Horn?

I thought a narwhal's horn grows out of its forehead, like a unicorn. I was wrong. The truth is, their horn is not a horn at all - it's a giant tooth, or tusk, that grows out of their mouth.
#shorts
Specimen use made possible by the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology

[@mariacatherinelambengco3115]

My nose when im sleeping:

[@revalution1965]

Reading this made me lose IQ lol

[@VcentChips]

my nose when i caught cold

[@Hamster_Muncher]

When I wake up 😩

[@thesingson9792]

😂

[@zacharyhudecz6644]

Fun Fact: It's a big INSIDE OUT tooth

[@ChilconCerato5623]

man, that beluga whale looks like a croc…

[@miguelbergado8631]

That's a narwhal

[@alphatrion100]

​@@miguelbergado8631 The other one

[@alphatrion100]

I thought the same thing

[@meganlodon]

​​@@miguelbergado8631There are two skulls shown in the video. A beluga whale is one of them. That's the skull Chilcon is speaking of. It's shown halfway through the short.

[@Lokiip]

​@@miguelbergado8631did your attention span end 10 seconds into this under a minute clip?.. Its a beluga whale that looks like the croc

[@SNguyen93]

Narwhal narwhal swimming in the ocean, causing a commotion, cuz they are so awesome

[@lenacohen0948]

Narwhal narwhal pretty big and pretty wide can beat a polar bear in a fight

[@pineeappletree]

@@lenacohen0948 like an underwater unicorn, they've got a kick-ass facial horn, they're the Jedi of the sea (they stop cthulhu eating ye)

[@EarlIvoryKnight]

Yeah skewering seals and penguins

[@AppleSauceNoSugarAdded]

god please stop i beg, i don’t want to go back to middle school

[@VitoBurrito]

Omg you took my thoughts

[@greensun1334]

That's a prime example for nature sometimes gets really weird! Imagine, a front tooth starts twisting, grows out of your mouth and after that you're able to receive electric impulses with it...

[@data1.078]

Maybe even receive radio channels on it.

[@greensun1334]

@@data1.078 yea, who knows?!

[@FernandoGonzalez-hq9ei]

Some wild bores grow tusks that curve into their skulls and eventually pierce their brain killing them... a giant sword sticking out of ur forehead doesn't seem very beneficial. How do we know they're not fuckin pissed off that thing must be in the way ALL the time

[@haruyu123]

It didn't grow overnight. It's evolution. Nature isn't weird in and if itself. It's looks weird because you aren't used to it seeing these animals

[@greensun1334]

@@haruyu123 of course it didn't grow over night...

[@crelos3549]

How can you know that a unicorn's horn isn't also a tooth if you don't have a unicorn skull?

[@_raccoon_1073]

Because we had photographed evidence

[@CallMeMimi27]

don't do this to me. I can't go on with my life thinking a unicorn's "horn" is actually a fucking tooth. i can't It would destroy me, im not... strong enough...

[@ben-chan420]

The horn is actually part of the unicorn's nervous system. It's densely packed with neural tissue and is covered by a thick layer of keratin to protect it. Studies conducted at the Wealdwillow Institute of the Arcane suggest that its purpose was as to focus and project the unicorn's innate thaumaturgical energy, much like the modern wizard's wand or staff. This also as a result makes identification of unicorns from their mundane counterparts particularly difficult, as the horn often decomposes before it can become properly fossilized, leaving the remains nearly indistinguishable from any old horse. Hopefully this insight was enlightening, it's fun to blow mundie minds with boring stuff I had to learn in school lol

[@Drak_From_The_Healer_Tribe]

​@@ben-chan420damn, now I want to watch a modern day fantasy series about in universe biology with magical creatures and such, like a docummentary or something similar.

[@J.A.huscher]

​@@ben-chan420 I love it when people give biology to mythology

[@viktorbihar5384]

The craziest thing is that the so-called tooth is actually hydrodynamic. The spirals help move water uniformly, causing less drag. Edit: THERE, fixed it, YOU HAPPY NOW!? jk, yall are right either way😭

[@FernandoGonzalez-hq9ei]

Imagine living life with a giant sword sticking out of ur forehead ..

[@viktorbihar5384]

@FernandoGonzalez-hq9ei That's why we dont got none😂 We suffer enough.

[@micr0wav3_L0v3r]

Its like a fighter jet. A pointy end is aerodynamic so the jet can move faster.

[@Empires-legofan]

@@FernandoGonzalez-hq9ei as a British person we do this regularly

[@MarioXcore1]

Hydrodynamic homie, narwhals can’t fly

[@koriw1701]

There are actually narwhals that have a horn (tooth) on the *opposite* side of others. Some are left-handed, others are right-handed. No one really knows why this is.

[@thelukesternater]

Can someone google if it’s about 10% left 90 right?

[@Ballin4Vengeance]

Some rare ones have both

[@thelukesternater]

@@Ballin4Vengeance duel wielding is over-rated, as any skilled swordsman will tell you: one is enough!!!

[@alpdemirerel2074]

@@Ballin4Vengeance and some don't have any aka they are female

[@Fox_961]

​@@alpdemirerel2074about 15% of females have tusks

[@_chEEZ]

I love this man. He’s like the bob ross of dead animals

[@Mikael2492]

This guy definitely has a fragment of Godzilla's Skin inside his lab.

[@GrannySoupLadle]

He’s like a guy who didnt learn stuff as a kid and is now learning stuff. What ever thats called. Idiot. Dumbo. Slowy slowerton.

[@shantaeshotuyo]

Your are so right!!! He does have that calming effect on you! Like I think they hypnotize us to be real😂😂😂

[@luisxvgenovese1736]

“Now I’ll show you a happy little skull”

[@neznamkakvoimedastavim2489]

me, who watched wild Kratts as a kid: I'm four parallel universes ahead of you

[@MrAdeuhtyr]

Wild Kratts has nothing on Zaboomafoo

[@crypticcorvid]

@@MrAdeuhtyr They're the same guys. The Kratt brothers win again.

[@frownyclowny6955]

I knew this when I was little but I don’t remember where all I remember is narwhals swimming in the ocean

[@floranse5205]

@@frownyclowny6955 for many years i thought narwhals were as mythical as unicorns lmao

[@gabrielcielolara7571]

That was the exact same situation for a long time in the past

[@InkjklTheinkypieUWU]

🎶 NARWHALS NARWHALS LIVING IN THE OCEAN CAUSING A COMMOTION CUZ THEY ARE SO AWSOME! 🎶

[@sniperstg2]

NARWHALS NARWHALS SWIMMING IN THE OCEAN PRETTY BIG AND PRETTY WIDE, THEY BEAT A POLAR BEAR IN A FIGHT

[@perumafioso517]

Bro if someone told me that this flattened Estemmenosuchus skull its from a beluga whale, i would not believe

[@retrogotgamez]

Bro a flattened what?

[@kylan419]

​@@retrogotgamez just looked it up and.... what the what?? I'd recommend looking it up, I've never seen something so bizarre looking.

[@CRKfanCRKismyonlyfandom]

​@@retrogotgamez A fish 🐟

[@Thewildlifeenthusiast123]

​@@retrogotgamez a flattened crocodile with horns

[@muizsp9525]

​@@kylan419 goofy ahh prehistoric reptile

[@AugmentedGravity]

Beluga whale looks a lot cuter with its skin on

[@helloworld9752]

Damn wild kratts really did teach me the good animal facts

[@DatDoggie]

Same

[@neznamkakvoimedastavim2489]

just commented something similar

[@luvxoxundertalehazbinhotel1835]

FR 😂

[@teamanimalstravis7385]

True

[@bigsam8597]

Facts

[@elly-vr6hp]

AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT THOUGHT NARWALS WERENT REAL!!??!?!? I THOUGHT THIS FOR OVER 20 YEARS!

[@Jayman2800]

My guy just casually pulled out fucking SCP-682 to show us about Narwhal anatomy

[@oliviahaines9097]

Wow 🤩

[@Blahajenthusiast]

dr bright strikes again

[@bugonboris6681]

Uh oh...

[@3asianassassin]

682 is actually a whale globster, a highly decomposed whale corpse, probably a beluga

[@Jayman2800]

@3asianassassin Yeah, it was from a news story about a beluga that washed up on the shores of Russia many years ago

[@SteRob-ky1wt]

That just makes it even more crazy and cool that it evolved like that

[@Strix0615]

Shoutout to Wild Kratts, who taught me this years ago. I love that show so much, and as an aspiring zoologist I still remember facts from it to this day😂

[@dogmanwes2790]

"Beluga whale" na bro that's SCP-682

[@1224chrisng]

good thing we have a camera pointing at it, because if you weren't looking it snap your ne--

[@rhobidderskag1121]

@@1224chrisng wrong SCP. He’s talking about the unkillable lizard. You’re thinking about peanut.

[@cherriemaesicad8830]

​@@1224chrisng stupid doesnt know his scps

[@muizsp9525]

I like that the original 682 image is a remains of a dead beluga

[@ericr154]

Maybe a miniature size..

[@miisanwastaken]

So basically a toothpick

[@BubblewrapOracle]

...I mean... Well no, but... Well fine! I guess! ; p

[@ICPadict36]

or a skewer

[@lordmonarchdecal9417]

Imagine how painful it is when it snaps in half since a tooth has a lot if nerves

[@shinichiizumi5243]

There is a reason its referred to as narwhals TUSK

[@writerman2934]

The english finally found their spirit animal.

[@trustworthydan]

Sick burn. 😂😂😂

[@pressaltf4forfreevbucks179]

Real

[@lizziek.1546]

When you showed us the skull of the beluga whale I really thought what you were comparing with the narwhal skull was an alligator or crocodile skull 🤯

[@SanilJadhav711]

That looked more like an ice age carnivore skull to me lol, just goes to show how whales are our mammal cousins like other mammals

[@okkyhusain4056]

I have checked it on google. I believe that is not beluga whale

[@ey3z4ya]

​@@okkyhusain4056i have checked it on google. It's definitely a beluga whale skull.

[@ricky0738]

The only truly Unicorn-like animal on the Face of the earth and we are making them extinct, we really don't know how to appreciate how RARE and how beautiful this animal is, we don't learn.

[@MP4_mafia]

This is a great example of how structures in evolution don't suddenly mutate, but are the byproduct of previous incipient structures that slowly become more advantageous to a different function than originally used for.

[@SoulDelSol]

What do they use it's tooth for. Battling other narwhals over a mate, breaking ice, sensing water temperature, stabbing fish, swimming faster, to be more attractive to mates, self defense?

[@garticus4426]

@@SoulDelSol maybe all of those things. But i think mainly for figuring for a mate and self defense

[@Gibberish_Introvert713]

It's called a tusk and the other small hole, in a few hundred years, that hole will grow another tusk. WILD KRATTS WAS MY CHILDHOOD!!!

[@TheWholeEntireCake]

“Bye Buddy, hope you find your dad” “Thanks Mr.Narwhal”

[@kokujin5446]

It somehow hurts and makes me itchy that the horn isn't perfectly centred.

[@danilopantelic2957]

People who watched wilde krats:I am 4 parel universes ahead of you

[@lunarierstudios9914]

Bro's asking the real questions in life.

[@Dersill6]

I do not believe you thats not a narwhal thats a skeletal blunderbuss

[@SunsetLikesCoconuts]

I already new the horns are not in the middle. It’s kinda cool

[@thatguy779]

The fact that it’s just one tooth off to the side and not both front teeth spiraling/fused together upsets me so

[@artistic_loser750]

I did a project on this a few years back bc we got to pick a random ocean animal to do a project on so I choose a narwal. I got called narwal girl as an insult but I loved it sm bc I love narwhals so I already knew this

[@ManusiaKagakRusuh]

"Narwal Girl" sounds like a compliment because it sounds cool, I think ... Unless, the class laugh at that name ... which is a shame for such a cool name being treated like a laughable stuff ... : (

[@ShantaGold406]

Narwhals narwhals Narwhals swimming in the ocean causing a commotion because they are so awesome

[@DeeDeeChillin420]

♪ NARWHAL, NARWHAL!! SWIMMIN IN THE OCEAN!! CAUSIN A COMMOTION, BECAUSE THEY ARE SO AWESOME!! 😂🤣😭❤️

[@salehponce7359]

Narwhals, narwhals. Pretty big, and pretty wide, and can beat a polar bear in a fight!

[@johnnywishbone936]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5zaoourgrWmpcU

[@Saul_Goodman_McGill]

Fun fact: people back in the day would catch narwhals and cut their tusks of and sell them as “unicorn horns”

[@remveel2443]

Looking at a beluga skull made me realize: We definitely got the dinosaur depiction wrong

[@Sumschmuck]

Put some hair on it, and you've got yourself a [REDACTED]

[@flanthief]

Dude failed to mention the most horrifying part about narwhal tusk. They are covered in millions of exposed nerve endings. I can't help but imagine how painful that could be, it's horrifying

[@laserlights9684]

Better for sensing you with my dear

[@FittedSheet2000]

I think the most disappointing thing is that they don't stab with the horn they whack things to knock them out then eat them

[@estie4930]

Honestly super disappointed to hear this.

[@TimSlee1]

Almost as disappointing as finding out that Swordfish don't use their snouts as actual swords.

[@starryfantastic7925]

bro its so fun seeing all his videos and then getting to say ppl whose childhoods were literally just Wild Kratts: 😏

[@eerielconstantine5051]

Does it grow through tissue like a warthog tooth? Or does it come out of the mouth without growing through the face?

[@vmm5163]

I didn't understand anything of what he said. I don't understand why there's a nubbin on the left like a horn dropped off.

[@Operngeist1]

it grows through the upper lip, there's skin all around it

[@eerielconstantine5051]

@@Operngeist1 ooo okie! Thank you!

[@Operngeist1]

@@vmm5163 the tusk and the small nubbin next to it were originally canine teeth and over the course of evolution for some reason the left one started to become what we see today while the other is just a remnant of a tooth in most individuals, though in some that one also grows into a tusk

[@AugmentedGravity]

Your right? My right? Its right? I’m confused

[@sarahsupernova8284]

I thought Narwhal were mythical creatures until I was in my 20s 😅😂

[@bentleybell444]

When you drink pop and you burn the top of your mouth gets us quick

[@brittyvegas9482]

That is awesome ...I know a lot about animals of all types of species but I didn't know that about the Narwhal 👍👍 learn something new every video I watch of yours 💕

[@some_dude_maybe]

It's weird how you said it's offset to the right, considering the narwhal is facing the camera

[@akumawellplayed2344]

Not Centered Great. My OCD is acting up now

[@Operngeist1]

there are very few individuals that have two tusks, making them symmetrical again, hope that helps

[@akumawellplayed2344]

@@Operngeist1 that brings me Comfort thank you.

[@you-nh8xo]

You don't have OCD. You don't have to lie on the internet to seem interesting.

[@akumawellplayed2344]

@@you-nh8xo There are many types of OCD, I just have Symmetry OCD, I feel Uncomfortable when I see stuff that looks incomplete. And well, Narwal Skulls look Wierd to me, I am not a Severe Case, I dont have the urge to just fix stuff up at the Littlest imperfection. After writing this Message I realise that you will probably never even be able to read this and that I have wasted my time. Touché and well played to "You"

[@you-nh8xo]

@@akumawellplayed2344 Sure, Jan.

[@Tanaska_jr]

There is a rare occurrence when a narwhal has two horns, but that only happens to really old narwhals

[@MorbyLol]

The waffle House has found it's new host

[@spyder-]

The waffle house has found its new host

[@Rosald57]

The Waffle House Has Found Its New Hostㅤ

[@bittershadow12345]

Honestly I already knew it was a tooth

[@feliciagaffney1998]

Except that horn is offset to the animal's left.

[@D_D_D_D_D_D]

The waffle house has found its new host

[@liammcguire4046]

The Waffle House has found its new host.

[@blockwithaglock96]

The waffle house has found it's new host

[@UnfortunateKera]

Break

[@fachrimahardika1656]

the waffle house has found its new host

[@fachrimahardika1656]

@mayirishsofilan8871 boomer

[@GG553]

Learning that narwals horn/tooth is not centered bothers me a lot

[@ミュート01]

Why did bro caress it like that

[@jpdinoanimations]

People find strange that the narwal horn is actually a teeth, but elephants also have these

[@Me-zc9cv]

I learnt this by watching cartoons

[@AugmentedGravity]

This is pretty logical

[@tsmith906]

I remember when i learned the narwhal was not a mythical creature. It took me about a week to fully believe it.

[@trappadan124]

I call them sea unicorn🤷🏽‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️🤣

[@voltaic-t1q]

i am gaining faith in humanity because someone is finally not a discord/reddit mod or something but actually having a life

[@autumn5356]

I thought you were suggesting that the horn was growing out of the narwhal’s right nose. But thankfully that wasn’t true.

[@thesexybatman263]

Already knew they were overgrown theet, but it took me by surprize that it's a single one. The "horn" have a spiral shape, so I always thought it was made by both front theet twisting around each other.

[@sheep1ewe]

It is rare, but occationaly they hawe a pair of them; double horns.

[@DinoGoofHybridHero7531]

Holy smokes it’s SCP 682!

[@bearsarebrownies6577]

it’s actually a tooth, very sensitive and can pick up heat signatures, some people say it’s so sensitive that they can communicate by touching spikes too

[@Cursed_Crash]

I learned bassically the same thing from the wild krats. I miss the show😢

[@KIKURAsky]

So narwhals aren't unicorns... My life was a lie + childhood ruined + cries cries cries 😭 + goodbye

[@LilypondMovie]

My OCD cannot handle this level of asymmetry

[@And_peggy12345]

Fun fact: the horn you see that is sticking out of the narwhal is not a horn. It’s actually a long tooth.

[@TheOfficial_SunflowerGT]

I was expecting it to grow out of their nose or something lol

[@TheOfficial_SunflowerGT]

Oh I thought I said tooth lol nvm I mean mouth I thought I was genuinely right. Almost said ribt lolll LOLLLl-

[@KipperDip]

Didn’t think the sea unicorn could get any more ridiculous but here we are

[@hawkdjr]

I only know this because of Wild Kratts, and they can also sometimes have 2 front teeth (horns) 😂

[@darlenekeeney]

My aunt thought Narwals were mythical creatures, she genuinely thought they weren’t real. Love her, she’s the best

[@nekofrisk1005]

The other side makes me think that either narwhals are in the process of evolving another “horn”(long tooth) or stop partially through

[@marcusyoung7226]

I was today years old whenever I figured out that the narwhal had a tooth instead of a horn.

[@brianrodgers409]

It helps to keep airholes open so they don't drown if they get locked in sea ice

[@AMTRAX]

Yeah that’s why they call it a narwhal tooth, not a horn

[@brunitop4753]

Man. If only there was a word to describe a really long tooth that protrudes from the mouth even when closed.

[@cookiesanyone5444]

"i thought that the narwhals horn grows straight from the the skull! Like a unicorn🦄" Me : wait.. you have seen a unicorn skull 😧💀

[@sonrykon5413]

I learned the narwhal horn was a tooth from a very specific song about narwhals involving them being the jedis of the sea

[@Wise-Yoda-Puppet]

I thought it was a borzoi skull

[@storonniynabliudatel]

thanks youtube. I don't even know how I lived before without this information.

[@Mr.JamLikesJelly]

The other smaller hole is for a second horn, but often narwhals only grow one.

[@admiralcat3809]

why is the skull oddly deformed and bent? Must've felt weird for the whale when it was alive.

[@coltontheking4407]

Didn’t everyone know that was a tooth

[@MrDDiRusso]

Technically, the narwhal has a tusk, similar to elephants. However, the narwhal tusk is softer on the outside and harder on the inside, which is opposite of most animal tusks.

[@man-spider-and-co]

A good short that is straight to the point.

[@nodical802]

@OwO no one will

[@codycompilationproduction1583]

That dentist appointment must be crazy expensive

[@TrystynMoy]

My dad still doesn’t believe me when I tell him that narwhals are real animals

[@reespawnoftruth6784]

So his horn was a tusk? Why would they have just one tusk if there's a place to grow another?

[@liothetitanhunter7959]

for me, I thought the horn was coming from the nose so I was wrong too lol

[@Tony-iu7sw]

The Narwhal is also one of the greatest interviewers of all time.

[@woadblue]

Already knew this but thumbs up for your teaching and interest keeping prowess

[@miguelcabreracastro6968]

never seen a narwhal skull before, so weird. i love it

[@blakake]

They can hybridize

[@ep1phany62]

People say the Manatee is the source of the Mermaid myth, but it makes so much more sense for it to be Beluga Whales. Firstly, Beluga whales have a feminine shaped body. Secondly, they are white, so much more visible under water. Thirdly, they are inquisitive, intuitive and helpful (it’s entirely possible that they would come to the help of drowning sailors). Fourthly, they sing. Four things that are linked to the myth of the mermaid. Manatees are shy, less common and more likely to stay away from boats.

[@EuAmoChurrasc0]

Imagine the future arqueologists finding these skulks

[@GustavRex]

That's actually so interesting, how is this not more widely known?

[@thebabysleepingpanda]

I knew it was a tusk because I grew up watching wild Kratts

[@c1ue13ss]

Narwhals! Narwhals! Swimming in the ocean! 🌊🌊🌊