Posted on February, 10 2009

A BBC team has filmed, what it believes to be the first, aerial footage of the narwhal whales. During their summer migration, as these arctic whales made their way through cracks in the melting Arctic sea ice, the BBC team used a special mount to film from the helicopter.



"Arctic unicorn" in icy display. Click on the image to go to watch the video on BBC website

According to Wikipedia
"the narwhal males are distinguished by a characteristic long, straight tusk extending from their upper left jaw. Found primarily in Canadian Arctic and Greenlandic waters."

The BBC website mentions:
Narwhal are sometimes called "Arctic unicorns" because of the long, spiral tusk that protrudes from their jaws.

The appendages can reach more than 2m (7ft) in length; scientists believe males use them to attract potential mates.

Justin Anderson, who produced the programme for a new series Nature's Great Events, said
"This is the first time the narwhal migration has been filmed this way. It has been filmed from the ice, but this is the first time it has been filmed from the air.

"It was an amazing sight. These animals are just so completely unreal - they are like something from mythology - and we were all just completely gobsmacked when we saw them."

Watch the short video on the BBC news website.

Nature's Great Events: The Great Melt is on Wednesday 11 February on BBC One at 2100 GMT