The tusks tend to be covered in algae except for the tip. Adult male and female narwhals are mottled and spotted with gray-green, black, and cream colors. Narwhals are born gray, darken in color and then, starting with the belly, whiten with age. Narwhals likely possess excellent hearing and vision. Narwhals create a sort-of vacuum and suck up their food which includes squid, Greenland halibut, shrimp, Arctic cod, rockfish, flounder, and crab.
Narwhals only have two vestigial teeth.
The male narwhal tusk is thought to play no role in feeding because males and tuskless females consume the same diet. Female narwhals are old enough to reproduce after 5 years, males after 8 years. Most narwhal females conceive in mid-April. Female narwhals usually give birth every three years. Narwhals may live for 30-40 years.