Scientists begin tracking the mysterious narwhal through the Arctic (Yahoo! News)

This tusked "Unicorn of the Sea" is one of the ocean's most interesting oddities

As many wonders as modern science has unfolded in the natural world, some of nature's creatures still remain a mystery ? especially animals in the ocean's lesser explored regions.?One such creature is the narwhal or Monodon monoceros, a tusked whale-like mammal that seems almost too strange to be real. Estimates put the worldwide narwhal population at 50,000 to 80,000, and the creatures are largely found in the icy Arctic waters of Canada and Greenland. With a new initiative, scientists will try to learn more about narwhals than ever before by tagging the animals and tracking their movements.

Tracking efforts are now well underway, as a 15-person crew fitted nine of the strange sea mammals with satellite tags in late summer. The narwhals were all tagged in Canada's Tremblay Sound, and after their release have been monitored through a signal that is transmitted when the animals surface above the water. The equipment will broadcast the narwhals' locations via GPS every four days, an interval chosen to prolong the battery life of the devices while still getting a dynamic picture of their migrations.

As of late October, the narwhals have headed south to escape the ice that will cover the sea around North Baffin Island. Of the nine originally fitted, seven are still transmitting data via the tracking system, which is no bigger than a cellphone and mounted to a narwhal's dorsal blubber. The tracking devices also record the depth of each dive the animals make, as well as its duration. Through tracking the so-called "unicorns of the sea," researchers hope to learn more about their migratory patterns while building (another) compelling argument for protecting the Arctic waters from industrial expansion.

World Wildlife Fund via Fox News

This article originally appeared on Tecca

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