Editing Narwhal (section)

== Distribution ==

[[File:Особи нарвала в Арктике.jpg|thumb|Pod of six narwhals|alt=Six narwhals near the water surface in the open ocean.]]

The narwhal is found in the Atlantic and Russian areas of the [[Arctic Ocean]]. Individuals are commonly recorded in the [[Canadian Arctic Archipelago]],<ref>{{Citation |last=Heide-Jørgensen |first=M. P. |title=Narwhal: ''Monodon monoceros'' |date=2018 |pages=627–631 |editor-last=Würsig |editor-first=Bernd |editor-last2=Thewissen |editor-first2=J. G. M. |editor-last3=Kovacs |editor-first3=Kit M. |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128043271000133 |access-date=27 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120021454/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128043271000133 |archive-date=20 January 2023 |url-status=live |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-804327-1 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (Third Edition)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Belikov |first1=Stanislav E. |last2=Boltunov |first2=Andrei N. |date=21 July 2002 |title=Distribution and migrations of cetaceans in the Russian Arctic according to observations from aerial ice reconnaissance |url=https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/NAMMCOSP/article/view/2838 |url-status=live |journal=NAMMCO Scientific Publications |language=en |volume=4 |pages=69–86 |doi=10.7557/3.2838 |issn=2309-2491 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127204114/https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/NAMMCOSP/article/view/2838 |archive-date=27 January 2024 |access-date=27 January 2024}}</ref> such as in the northern part of [[Hudson Bay]], in [[Hudson Strait]], in [[Baffin Bay]], off the east coast of Greenland and in a strip running east from the northern end of Greenland to eastern Russia ([[170th meridian east|170° east]]). Land in this strip includes [[Svalbard]], [[Franz Joseph Land]] and [[Severnaya Zemlya]].<ref name="WinterWhales" /> The northernmost sightings of narwhals occurred north of Franz Joseph Land, at about [[85th parallel north|85° north]].<ref name="WinterWhales" /> There are an estimated 12,500 narwhals in the northern Hudson Bay, whereas around 140,000 reside in Baffin Bay.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last1=Watt |first1=C. A. |last2=Orr |first2=J. R. |last3=Ferguson |first3=S. H. |date=January 2017 |title=Spatial distribution of narwhal (''Monodon monoceros'') diving for Canadian populations helps identify important seasonal foraging areas |url=http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/10.1139/cjz-2016-0178 |url-status=live |journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology |language=en |volume=95 |issue=1 |pages=41–50 |doi=10.1139/cjz-2016-0178 |bibcode=2017CaJZ...95...41W |issn=0008-4301 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128092102/https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/cjz-2016-0178 |archive-date=28 January 2024 |access-date=20 January 2024}}</ref>

=== Migration ===
Narwhals exhibit [[seasonal migration]], with a high [[Philopatry|fidelity of return]] to preferred ice-free summering grounds, usually in shallow waters. In summer months, they move closer to the coast, often in pods of 10–100 individuals. In the winter, they move to deeper waters offshore, under thick [[pack ice]], surfacing in narrow fissures or in wider fractures known as [[Lead (sea ice)|leads]].<ref name="WinterWhales" /><ref name="Laidre2005">{{Cite journal |last1=Laidre |first1=K. L. |last2=Heide-Jorgensen |first2=M. P. |date=January 2005 |title=Winter feeding intensity of narwhals (''Monodon monoceros'') |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2005.tb01207.x |journal=Marine Mammal Science |language=en |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=45–57 |bibcode=2005MMamS..21...45L |doi=10.1111/j.1748-7692.2005.tb01207.x |issn=0824-0469}}</ref> As spring comes, these leads open up into channels and the narwhals return to the coastal [[bay]]s.<ref name="Laidre2008">{{Cite journal |last1=Laidre |first1=Kristin L. |last2=Stirling |first2=Ian |last3=Lowry |first3=Lloyd F. |last4=Wiig |first4=Øystein |last5=Heide-Jørgensen |first5=Mads Peter |last6=Ferguson |first6=Steven H. |date=March 2008 |title=Quantifying the sensitivity of Arctic marine mammals to climate-induced habitat change |url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1890/06-0546.1 |journal=Ecological Applications |language=en |volume=18 |issue=sp2 |pages=S97–S125 |bibcode=2008EcoAp..18S..97L |doi=10.1890/06-0546.1 |issn=1051-0761 |pmid=18494365}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Paine |first=Stefani Hewlett |url=http://archive.org/details/natureofarcticwh0000pain |title=The nature of Arctic whales : belugas, bowheads and narwhals |date=1995 |publisher=Vancouver : Douglas & McIntyre |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-55054-190-8 |pages=24}}</ref> Narwhals in Baffin Bay typically travel to northern Canada and Greenland between June and September. After this period, they travel about {{Convert|1700|km|mi}} south to the [[Davis Strait]], and stay there until April.<ref name=":3" /> During winter, narwhals from Canada and West Greenland regularly visit the pack ice of the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay along the [[continental slope]] which contains less than 5% open water and hosts a high density of [[Greenland halibut]].<ref name= Laidre2004/><ref name="WinterWhales" />