Chances are you’ll never see a narwhal up close – let alone a pod feeding in the ocean.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada released footage Friday, announcing ground-breaking research that confirms the ocean species – also known as sea unicorns – use its tusks to feed.
Through aerial footage shot with drones, scientists were able to watch tusked narwhals approaching schools of arctic cod, tracking the cod with the tusk, and then, as the cod was positioned close to the tip of the tusk, the narwhals giving it a quick hard tap that stunned the fish before they would move in to suck in the prey.
Narwhals are classified as “special concern” by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. The species is federally protected and live in the Arctic Ocean near Nunavut, but are also being considered for listing under the federal Species at Risk Act.