MARINE MAMMALS NARWHAL MONODON MONOCEROS Narwhals have a single tusk which is actually a tooth It grows out of the upper left jaw of male narwhals in a counterclockwise spiral The tusks can grow to more than 10 feet 3 m long Only very rarely will adult females grow a tusk Sometimes a narwhal grows two MARINE MAMMALS Marine mammals live all or most of their lives in or near the ocean They depend on the ocean for their survival In addition these mammals have a thick layer of blubber to help them keep warm Marine mammals are found all over the world in a variety of habitats HOW TO SPOT Size 13 to 16 feet 4 to 5 m long 2,200 to 4,000 pounds 1,000 to 1,800 kg Range Arctic Ocean and north of the Arctic Circle Habitat Depends on the season They can be found in the deep ocean ice free coastal areas and densely packed ice Diet Greenland halibut and other fish squid and crustaceans 8
BELUGA DELPHINAPTERUS LEUCAS Beluga whales have all white skin and a melon shaped head Belugas are highly social creatures and travel in large pods They are very vocal too using a variety of clicks whistles chirps and squawks for communicating mating and hunting HOW TO SPOT Size 13 to 16 feet 4 to 5 m long up to 3,500 pounds 1,600 kg Range Arctic and subarctic waters Habitat Shallow coastal waters of the Arctic seas and in deep waters Diet A variety of fish crustaceans and mollusks FUN FACT Both narwhals and belugas use echolocation to hunt in the ocean 9
MARINE MAMMALS BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN TURSIOPS TRUNCATUS Bottlenose dolphins are highly intelligent and use a wide variety of clicks grunts whistles squeaks and whines to communicate They travel in pods of two to more than 100 dolphins often forming pair bonds that last many years Bottlenose dolphins have thick short snouts and gray skin HOW TO SPOT Size 6 to 13 feet 2 to 4 m long up to 1,400 pounds 640 kg Range All oceans at tropical and temperate latitudes Habitat Usually in coastal areas sometimes in open waters estuaries bays gulfs and even rivers Diet A wide variety of fish and invertebrates CETACEANS Whales dolphins and porpoises are a type of marine mammal called cetaceans Cetaceans are divided into two groups toothed and baleen whales As the name suggests toothed whales belugas narwhals dolphins and porpoises have teeth and one blowhole Baleen whales have two blowholes and no teeth Instead they have hundreds of baleen plates that trap prey when the whales take water into their mouths 10
HARBOR PORPOISE PHOCOENA PHOCOENA Harbor porpoises are shy solitary animals They usually prefer to travel alone or in small groups of two to five others They tend to avoid boats and humans Harbor porpoises are mobile They may travel many miles per day over a home range that can extend thousands of square miles Harbor porpoises have rounded faces and short beaks Their throats and stomachs are white and their backs are dark gray HOW TO SPOT Size 5 to 5.5 feet 1.5 to 1.7 m long 135 to 170 pounds 61 to 77 kg females are larger than males Range Coastal areas of the North Atlantic Arctic and North Pacific Oceans as well as the Black and Baltic Seas Habitat Shallow coastal waters including bays and estuaries fresh water at the mouth of rivers Diet Fish octopuses and squid Harbor porpoises have a single dorsal fin FUN FACT Underwater noise made by people can disrupt porpoises communication 11
