Has any facility attempted to keep narwhals? And does any facility keep the species currently?
Narwhals in Captivity?
- Thread starter Shellheart
- Start date
I did actually see that thread,but as you may have noticed,it's five years old. I was wondering if there were any currently in captivity as of 2014.
Elephas Maximus
Well-Known Member
Tuskless females are not much more tricky to keep than belugas.
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Currently, no facility keeps captive narwhal. The tusk does cause issues. True, tuskless females would be no problem, but they're not as impressive to look at. When people think of narwhal, they think of the tusk. Just as well, attempts to keep them in captivity haven't been all that successful. I'm also told that narwhals are a rather elusive animal, making captures more difficult.
I'll second TMO.
Realistically, our only chance of seeing them captive would be in a rescue situation. Their range doesn't really fall into an area that is typically used for cetacean captures, and being that they seemingly (especially the males) do so poorly in captivity I doubt many places will try to specifically capture them (although I wouldn't put it past a Russian or Asian country to attempt them)
I didn't think they were currently kept in captivity,but I honestly wasn't sure,thanks. I had heard the tusks would be problematic in captivity,so it makes sense that they'd only be kept in rescue situations.
In the UK Flamingo Park had ambitions to exhibit the species in the 1960s, but it did not happen.