Canadian wildlife · Drawing 41 of 41
Narwhal
In the Arctic
The narwhal lives in Arctic seas. It travels among the ice and comes up to breathe through passages where the water remains open.
Did you know?
Its long tusk twists in a spiral, like the stripes on a candy cane.
Look together
Can you trace the spiral on its tusk with your finger?
An idea to try
Draw several pieces of ice, leaving a water route between them.
For the adult reading along
A little more to discover
Scientific name: Monodon monoceros. Where it lives: Canadian Arctic waters, including the Baffin Bay region. What it eats: Fish and other marine animals, varying by season and location. The tusk grows from the upper jaw. Most females do not have one. Narwhals breathe through openings in the ice; they cannot break through thick sea ice.
Sources and illustration notes (3)
Simplified drawing for colouring. Coat, feather or skin markings are left white so children can choose their colours. Proportions and details are not a scientific identification plate.
These links lead to other websites. Explore them with an adult. References identify the institution and the related lesson; some linked pages are in French.
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada — Researching Themes: Population Dynamics, NarwhalTusk as tooth, sex variation, Arctic distribution, feeding and breathing openings.
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada — Narwhal management planLeft upper tooth forms the usual male tusk.
- Arctic journal — The Spiral in the Tusk of the Narwhal (Kingsley and Ramsay, 1988)The tusk grows in a spiral.
Page prepared on September 30, 2026. Illustrations are simplified for colouring.
This drawing is from the book Canadian Wildlife to Colour
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