Scientists Record Rarely Heard Sounds Made By Narwhals

May 27, 2020

With the help of Inuit hunters, geophysicists recently recorded the various calls, buzzes, clicks and whistles of narwhals as they summered in a Greenland fjord.

The recordings help scientists better understand the soundscape of Arctic glacial fjords and provide valuable insight into the behavior of these mysterious unicorns of the sea.

The researchers captured several types of sounds made by narwhals, including social calls, or whistles, and clicks used for echolocation, the biological sonar used by dolphins, bats, some whales and other animals to navigate and find food.

This animation illustrates how narwhal vocalizations match their behavior.