Based on knowledge gathered during interviews with Inuit elders and hunters in Western Greenland communities (Disko Island, Hunde Ejland, Saaqaq, Uummannaq, and Qaanaaq) and in Nunavut communities (Pangnirtung, Broughton Island, Repulse Bay, Pond Inlet and Arctic Bay), aerial surveys and satellite radio-telemetry, and some high-tech laboratory and field physiology tests, we know a lot more about narwhals than we used to.
For example, it is now believed that tusk has
significant sensory capabilities, with up to 10 million nerve endings inside.
The tusk may also serve some role in male dominance hierarchies, and Inuit observations reveal significant differences in morphology and behaviour of narwhals in different parts of their range.