Bad times for the Arctic unicorn

Changes in the way of life of the Eskimos, theinuit, they are putting thenarvales–Monodon monoceros?, the mythical marine mammals endowed with a long tusk of up to 3 meters that live in the seas of the North Pole. The culture of the Inuit, a people of the Canadian Arctic, is intimately linked to the hunting of narwhals, from which they obtain food and ivory. Now, according to scientists, this hunt is no longer sustainable. The young Eskimos have not learned the traditional techniques of their elders and they often see them shoot the whales indiscriminately with their rifles. Then, getting a piece is difficult even for the most expert: so that the naval does not sink, it is necessary to stay in the spine or in the brain just when it fills up breathe his lungs and, if he is injured, he is likely to escape and die later. Some 500 are reportedly hunted in Canada each year, but in addition, hundreds of them disappear under the waters.

The figures do not allow to speak of extinction – in the Arctic live from 40,000 to 70,000 narwhals -, but the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) warns of the danger that they face if the sale of their tusks is not controlled, at 125 dollars every 30 centimeters. In West Greenland the population of narwhals has risen from 10,500 in 1986 to 1,500 in 2003, so the government has limited the number of whales it allows to kill each year to 385.The next step is for hunters to agree to follow the old rules of the game, the same that have allowed the development of Eskimo culture, in which animals have a fundamental role.