Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Narwhals are Cool

In an article on the BBC News site, called 'Arctic unicorns' in icy display, they have an awesome video that's just under two minutes long. Perhaps it's their streamlined body paired with their lengthy tusks, but there's just something about narwhals that is so awkwardly graceful. Or, rather, gracefully awkward? Whatever it is, they are absolutely fascinating.

What's even more awkward than a toothy tusk protruding from your top lip? Two toothy tusks, my friends. It's not a common occurance, that's for sure, but it has happened. I took the above photo about two years ago while visiting the Natural History Museum in London. I spent a too-short weekend visiting museums in London while completing an internship at Our Dynamic Earth, one of Scotland's leading science centers. Or, as they say, centres. This narwhal skull was one of the most fascinating things I saw that day.

2 comments:

Miriam Goldstein said...

I think one of the whales in the video has two tusks. I was confused and now I am not. Thanks!

Liza said...

Ooh, I missed the narwhal with two tusks in the video... I'll have to go back and rewatch. Thanks for reading and commenting!