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Narwhal
- An Arctic whale (Monodon monoceros) having mottled gray or whitish skin and in the male, a long spirally
twisted tusk projecting forward from the left side of the head.
- A small arctic whale, Monodon monoceros, the male of which has a long, spirally twisted tusk extending
forward from the upper jaw.
- The Narwhal (meaning "corpse whale" in Old Norse) is a rarely seen Arctic whale. This social whale is
known for the very long tooth that males have.
THE TOOTH
All narwhals have two teeth in their upper jaw. After the first year of a male narwhal's life, its left tooth
grows outward, spirally. This long, single tooth projects from its upper jaw and can grow to be 7-10 feet (2-3
m) long. Tusks are usually twisted in a counterclockwise direction and have a hollow interior. The tusk's
function is uncertain, perhaps used as a formidable jousting weapon in courtship and dominance rivalry, in
obtaining food, and/or for channeling and amplifying sonar pulses (which they emit). The tusk is not used in
hunting. Tusking is a behavior in which male narwhals rub their tusks together - perhaps determining
dominance in the group.
Long ago, narwhal sightings reinforced (or started) the unicorn legends. In medieval times, narwhal tusks
that washed ashore were thought to be from the mythical unicorn.
SIZE
Narwhals can grow to be about 16 feet (4.9 m) long (not counting the tooth), and weigh about 1.8 tons (1.6
tonnes). Females are slightly smaller, averaging about 13 feet (4 m) long, and weighing 1 ton (0.9 tonnes). At
birth, narwhals are about 5 feet (1.5 m) long and 175 pounds (80 kg).
HABITAT and MIGRATION
Narwhals live in the icy waters of the Arctic seas. Narwhals winter in deep-water beneath ice pack in groups
of 5-10 animals; in summer they migrate to shallow, ice-free summer grounds where they congregate in
larger groups. They rarely stray far from ice. In summer they infrequently enter estuaries, deep fjords, and
bays.
POPULATION COUNT
It is estimated that there are roughly 10,000 to 45,000 narwhals. Narwhals are preyed upon by man (Inuit
hunters legally hunt narwhals), polar bears, orcas, sharks, and walruses.
LIFE SPAN
Narwhals maximum life span is about 50 years.
DIET
Narwhals eat fish , squid , shrimp, and other marine animals. They feed near the sea floor, deep under the
pack ice of the Arctic.
REPRODUCTION
The Narwhal's gestation period is 10-16 months. Calves are brown and have no spots (unlike adults who are
blue-gray with whitish spots). Calves are nursed for about 4 months after birth.
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a massive stone monument located on a chalky plain north of the modern-day city of
Salisbury, England. Research shows that the site has continuously evolved over a period of about 10,000
years. The structure that we call “Stonehenge” was built between roughly 5,000 and 4,000 years ago and
that forms just one part of a larger, and highly complex, sacred landscape.
The biggest of Stonehenge’s stones, known as sarsens, are up to 30 feet (9 meters) tall and weigh 25 tons
(22.6 metric tons) on average. It is widely believed that they were brought from Marlborough Downs, a
distance of 20 miles (32 kilometers) to the north.
Construction of the Henge
In its day, the construction of Stonehenge was an impressive engineering feat, requiring commitment, time
and vast amounts of manual labor. In its first phase, Stonehenge was a large earthwork; a bank and ditch
arrangement called a henge, constructed approximately 5,000 years ago. It is believed that the ditch was
dug with tools made from the antlers of red deer and, possibly, wood. The underlying chalk was loosened
with picks and shoveled with the shoulderblades of cattle. It was then loaded into baskets and carried away.
Modern experiments have shown that these tools were more than equal to the great task of earth digging
and moving.
Who Built Stonehenge?
The question of who built Stonehenge is largely unanswered, even today. The monument's construction has
been attributed to many ancient peoples throughout the years, but the most captivating and enduring
attribution has been to the Druids. This erroneous connection was first made around 3 centuries ago by the
antiquary, John Aubrey. Julius Caesar and other Roman writers told of a Celtic priesthood who flourished
around the time of their first conquest (55 BC). By this time, though, the stones had been standing for 2,000
years, and were, perhaps, already in a ruined condition. Besides, the Druids worshipped in forest temples
and had no need for stone structures.
The best guess seems to be that the Stonehenge site was begun by the people of the late Neolithic period
(around 3000 BC) and carried forward by people from a new economy which was arising at this time. These
"new" people, called Beaker Folk because of their use of pottery drinking vessels, began to use metal
implements and to live in a more communal fashion than their ancestors. Some think that they may have
been immigrants from the continent, but that contention is not supported by archaeological evidence. It is
likely that they were indigenous people doing the same old things in new ways.