BBC Film Crew Captures 'Arctic Unicorns'

Elusive narwhals tracked on icy migration
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 10, 2009 11:08 AM CST
BBC Film Crew Captures 'Arctic Unicorns'
A narwhal shows off unicorn-like tusk.   (©berbercarpet)

A BBC crew has captured on film a hauntingly majestic pod of narwhals, their unicorn-like tusks slicing through Arctic waters. It's believed to be the first such film of the mysterious, elusive mammals, reports the BBC. The aerial team spotted the animals last summer as they negotiated their way through a web of ice cracks on their annual migration to find food. The mammals risk death if they submerge beneath ice for too long and fail to find openings where they can breathe.

"It was an amazing sight," said a member of the team. "These animals are just so completely unreal—they are like something from mythology—and we were all just completely gobsmacked when we saw them." (More narwhal stories.)

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