{"id":21310,"date":"2013-05-16T12:03:42","date_gmt":"2013-05-16T16:03:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/wildwire\/?p=21310"},"modified":"2022-02-15T09:39:35","modified_gmt":"2022-02-15T14:39:35","slug":"climate-change-is-a-challenge-for-narwhals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/omg_animals\/climate-change-is-a-challenge-for-narwhals\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate Change is a Challenge for Narwhals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Arctic Ocean is filled with amazing creatures that have the ability to survive in the coldest conditions. However, as the climate warms up and the sea ice melts, the Arctic Ocean can be a dangerous place for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/wildwire\/omg_animals\/beluga-whale-hunting-in-the-arctic\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>many arctic species<\/strong><\/a>, including narwhals.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_21312\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-21312\" style=\"width: 576px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-21312\" title=\"narwhal model\" src=\"\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/narwhal_model_fc_post-postmodern.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/narwhal_model_fc_post-postmodern.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/narwhal_model_fc_post-postmodern-80x60.jpg 80w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/narwhal_model_fc_post-postmodern-160x120.jpg 160w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/narwhal_model_fc_post-postmodern-265x198.jpg 265w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/narwhal_model_fc_post-postmodern-560x420.jpg 560w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/narwhal_model_fc_post-postmodern-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-21312\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A model of a Narwhal. Flickr Credit: post-postmodern<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/wildwire\/hot\/whale-scientists\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Narwhals<\/strong><\/a> are medium sized whales that live in packs of two to ten individuals. They are best known for the massive ivory tusk, which can grow to 150 cm to 267 cm long! They also happen to be one of the most sensitive Arctic marine mammals to climate change.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright  wp-image-21313\" title=\"Narwhals_breach_small\" src=\"\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/Narwhals_breach_small.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"324\" height=\"206\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/Narwhals_breach_small.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/Narwhals_breach_small-300x190.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 324px) 100vw, 324px\" \/><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The dramatic temperature swings caused by climate change not only lead to sea ice loss but also flash freezing. In some cases, a herd of narwhals will come up for air through tunnels in the ice, only to have the tunnels freeze shut behind them. The narwhals become stranded and are at a higher risk of being hunted by humans for their prized tusk.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Getting trapped in the ice isn\u2019t the only issue narwhals face due to climate change. As the ice continues to melt, human presence increases. This means more hunting and development in the narwhal\u2019s habitat, along with more boat activity as shipping and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/wildwire\/ranger-reporters\/the-oil-spill-what-you-have-to-say-about-it\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>oil exploration<\/strong><\/a> increase.<\/p>\n<h2>Currently, narwhals are a species of <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>special concern<\/strong><\/span> in Canada and <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>near threatened<\/strong><\/span> internationally.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21311\" title=\"narwhal_drawing\" src=\"\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/narwhal_drawing.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"171\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/narwhal_drawing.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/narwhal_drawing-300x80.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Sources:<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sararegistry.gc.ca\/virtual_sara\/files\/cosewic\/sr_narwhal_e.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.sararegistry.gc.ca\/virtual_sara\/files\/cosewic\/sr_narwhal_e.pdf<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.arkive.org\/narwhal\/monodon-monoceros\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.arkive.org\/narwhal\/monodon-monoceros\/<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.iucnredlist.org\/details\/13704\/0\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.iucnredlist.org\/details\/13704\/0<\/a><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Generously Supported By<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.westonfoundation.org\/Pages\/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-15828 aligncenter\" title=\"The W. Garfield Weston Foundation\" src=\"\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/wgwf.jpg\" alt=\"The W. Garfield Weston Foundation\" width=\"250\" height=\"62\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>A Conservation Partnership With<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.churchillscience.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-15841 aligncenter\" title=\"Churchill Northern Studies Centre\" src=\"\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/churchill_northern_studies_centre.jpg\" alt=\"Churchill Northern Studies Centre\" width=\"250\" height=\"120\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h5><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.earthrangers.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Earth Rangers<\/a> is a non-profit organization that works to inspire and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/bbtw\/resources.html\">educate<\/a> children about the environment. At EarthRangers.com kids can play <a href=\"http:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/games\/\">games<\/a>, discover <a href=\"http:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/wildwire\/category\/omg-facts\/\">amazing facts<\/a>, meet <a href=\"http:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/animals\/\">animal ambassadors<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bringbackthewild.com\/\">fundraise<\/a> to protect <a href=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/bbtw\/about.html\" target=\"_self\">biodiversity<\/a>.<\/em><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The unicorn of the sea is in trouble.  Take a look at the problems narwhals face as climate change grips the Arctic. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[668,13,409,1353,931],"tags":[50,49,26,328,280,60],"class_list":{"0":"post-21310","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-climate-change-2","8":"category-omg_animals","9":"category-omg-facts","10":"category-to-edit","11":"category-all","12":"tag-arctic","13":"tag-climate-change","14":"tag-habitat","15":"tag-hunting","16":"tag-narwhal","17":"tag-pollution"},"pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}