Ole Qvist Uummannaq

Western Greenland

Interviewer: What is the most memorable event that you have of narwhals?

Ole: In the beginning of the ´90’s, or a bit into the ´90’s, during the time when many a narwhal used to come and stay around here, there was a stretch of awesome weather and we caught narwhals on a steady basis. That is my greatest experience. We did not travel very far from here and came across narwhal, near Salleq. And you can still today come across them out at the hunting spot where we caught them then, especially this year, as there are just as many narwhals as there were then, or even more. I have seen them with my own eyes, as we travelled with a helicopter from here to Illorsuit. During the stretch from the edge of Uummannaq until past Qaarsut, we spent a good number of minutes, watching from the helicopter the narwhal peacefully making their exit after feeding in the fjord, floating, floating, some making small dives, so many narwhal. I therefore in a way am quite a bit opposed, when it is said that the narwhal are about to disappear. No, they don’t seem to be heading that way. We watched a whole lot of narwhal, with my own eyes, while travelling to Illorsuit, during the beginning of December. 

Interviewer: What was the use of the tusk at one time, by the people? 

Ole: Yes, well, in the past, our ancestors used the narwhal tusks for a lot of things. They were important to use for picking at the ice, when they didn’t yet have the ice picking tools; for the shaft tied to the arrow on the spear and for decorating the same. We do find that some use it for the handle on an ulu, and that some use the thickest part for the loop on a sledge dog harness, but not for the crossbar. And some made it into thin pieces during the time of ropes made of hide, to use as crossbars. The narwhal tusk was used for a lot of things.

Interviewer: Did the people in some way make a classification of the variations of the narwhal, such as the one with the tusk or the female with the tusk?

Ole: Yes, I have also seen this for myself in Disko Bay, near Kitsissuarsuit, where I saw narwhals and several females with tusks, with long tusks, but the tusks around here are shorter and thinner. This is a mix during a period with a healthy number of narwhal and beluga, generally has to show for itself. And then those with the pair, those with two tusks, you know, they are also very common here. Last year, they also kept catching narwhal with the paired tusks. 

Interviewer: Have you touched the tusk on a live whale, or do you know of anyone who has touched such a thing?

Ole: No. 

Interviewer: If so, on which part of the tusk, and what did the whale do, how was it?

Ole: But I have heard of, I have [incomplete] heard of a tusk being touched. I have heard of a whale being patted on its back at “sassat”, a polynya [ed. note: an area of open water surrounded by sea ice] where whales were trapped, I know of that one. “Sassat”, are “the whales staying at the polynyas,” and the same as what was done to these [whales patted in the open water], the tusk [was touched also], but of course, they felt it right away, they felt it when they were touched on their tusk. 

Also, over there west of Sermiarsuit, near Savissunnguaq, they tell stories of when they caught whales trapped at the polynya, and that they caught a whale by pulling it on its tusk. I believe that maybe it is only possible to touch a whale in such a way only when they are either wounded or trapped at the polynyas, you know. It is not possible just to approach and touch a floating whale, even from a kayak. It is a very shy animal.

Interviewer: What kind of danger does a narwhal and beluga experience? What feeds on narwhal and beluga, besides the humans and killer whales? 

Ole: Well, the greatest danger that the whales can experience, besides those, is being trapped at the polynyas, when the polynya freezes over. Due to the awesome nature’s own doing, many a whale have apparently suffocated, after attempting to keep themselves alive while being iced in at a polynya where they stayed. We also know of the incident down there, east of Niaqornaq, where many whales, some of which had huge tusks, went unnoticed, and some of which were caught, after being found under the ice, dead from suffocation. Unfortunately, I believe this is the worst thing that a whale can possibly experience. What was the other thing you asked?

Interviewer: What feeds on narwhals and belugas besides humans and killer whales?

Ole: Yes. Well, I know those whales are eaten by people and by killer whales. But the narwhal, they eat squid, many little squid and Greenland halibut. They eat many baby Greenland halibut. The belugas in the shallower areas eat mostly Atlantic cod and Greenland cod, as they have teeth. However, the narwhal have only the tusk so they mostly eat soft small squid and polar cod and baby Greenland halibut. This is what is found in their stomachs,

Interviewer: As we know, people, many people eat narwhal, and the killer whale eats the narwhal and beluga too. What else, who else, besides the humans and killer whales, also eat the narwhal and beluga?

Ole: Yes. I know that even when no one has been shooting at whales and we know too though, that sharks are very fast; we have caught sharks where the contents of the stomachs were huge amount of narwhal meat and blubber, although no one had made shots at the narwhal. In such situations, then we know that the sharks eat the whales too, both narwhal and beluga. Those are the only things I know of.

Interviewer: Do the narwhal and beluga know that they are being hunted?

Ole: Of course, the whale is this smart, especially the beluga, it flees instantly just by the most minute sound, those that are in our fjords. It is exactly the same thing for the narwhal. Those that are feeding in the dark in this area, instantly when they hear the motors, in anticipation of the coming light, then they have already taken off towards the exit of the fjord. And quite a bit further down there, south of Salleq and north of Qaarsoq, we always come across the big whales who are about to feed again.

Interviewer: When the narwhal and beluga realize they are being hunted, and you get to them before catching them, that is when you have not yet caught them or shot at them, how do they behave?

Ole: Well, they generally have their style of floating, but they are afraid of the sound they hear, you see, when they have been alarmed by sound while in the midst of being full of play and energy, they then have already taken off. But when there is thin ice where they can hide themselves, they are able to go beneath the very, very thin ice and stay with their head above the water collecting air, floating, where they can’t be seen. Only when they are full from feeding and when we hear their breathing, then we notice them, aha, there they are, just being still and “anerterisut,” filling themselves with air for their very, very big move, with their head turned down.

Interviewer: Is there a difference in the swimming styles of the whales with tusks and the females?

Ole: No, I know absolutely nothing about that. But we know the female always has her young with her. And they are also built smaller. The males are very big, you know, they are really huge. But with respect to the smaller totally black ones, “qernarissut”,  you are not able to tell whether it’s male or female as those little ones float quickly. It is very difficult to understand, unless they are with their young. Of course it is very easy to tell with the older female whales because they are with their young. And we are now not able to hunt those, because you are not allowed to hunt them. 

Interviewer: How often do you see males without tusks or hear of them?

Ole: Yes. I have caught a whale that weighed up to 3 tons. And I’m afraid that I have to refer to it as “issuttooq” [one with large testicles], as we refer to those as such, very big narwhals without tusks. They are completely without tusks. It weighed up to 3 tons. When Adolf Jensen was studying whales, we used to weigh the whales we caught with the crane, by pulling them up. The whale I caught weighed up to 3 tons. Those with the big tusks can weigh 2 tons 700[kg], or 2 tons 800[kg], but this one reached 3 tons when pulled upwards, and that was the whale, the enormous “issuttooq” male without a tusk, an enormous whale. Those are the only ones without a tusk. All the other males grow up with a tusk. Those probably develop to become “issuttuut” [plural of issuttooq] as their natural make up.

Interviewer: How different are the helical ridges around a tusk? In the males and females.

Ole: This is difficult to differentiate, but we generally know that some tusks on the whales grow in a spiral, and sometimes really straight and that is for the narwhal. The tusk on a female is very straight, but the distance between the ridges is a bit bigger, well, with helical ridges. Those other whales caught here have very beautiful strangely grown tusks. Those are the properties that they carry in their own dear natural form. 

Interviewer: When the female has a tusk, is the size and shape different from the male?

Ole: Yes. They always have a smaller build. They are always built smaller than the males, all the ones that I have seen, even with a tusk. They are not as broad as the males. They are always built smaller, those that I have seen, the narwhals. 

Interviewer: Are there stories of the females with tusks where you come from?

Ole: No, I have not heard of them being spoken of separately. And ever since I started taking part in narwhal and beluga hunts, I only know of the arrival of the narwhal. Those with calves arrive last. After the big ones have spent some time here after their arrival, they move on and when they all have arrived, they move on, continuing to go south from our fjord. That means that they go to Vajgat or Disko Bay, here you know, the narwhal go through Vajgat, along the coast of Qeqertarsuaq, as they don’t travel on the shallow part, as the narwhal travel in the deep ocean.

Interviewer: Do the females with tusks behave differently than the males with tusks?

Ole: They are very difficult to differentiate as they are amongst them, you see. For example, those whales of the same type, we are not able to tell the difference, if it is a female or male, if it has a tusk. We are only able to differentiate them after we catch them through their openings and breasts. 

Interviewer: Do you try and notice whether the size of the tusk can be compared to the size of the body?

Ole: Yes, as they get older, their body matures and becomes broader, but some are shorter than the tusk, and there are whales which are long and slender, with very short tusks. However, those long and slender ones also have very long tusks, and there is another kind that has round breasts, with very short tusks. And I have also caught this type, more than just one. I have also caught a beluga, further south, when I lived in Aasiaat, with teeth that went inward, and they said that it was a Canadian beluga. Their blubber had a bluish shine to it, it wasn’t brown, not yellowish like ours, it was pretty.

Interviewer: Are there sometimes differences in those?

Ole: Yes, there are differences in those. Of course, because they have some sort of little deformity, I come especially across some, that should have been very big, but are as big as us, but elders. I have also caught one that was smaller than the very big ones, with bones that had turned brown, a whale that seemed old. This means that the blubber has developed grooves, and the edges of the bones turned brown. As we hunters do not scientifically have a way of inspecting age on our prey, we try and use the colouring of the bones to determine their age. The limbs on the old have a shade of brown. For example, I can say that a ringed seal, for which we use the term “natsillak”, an old one, the edges of its limbs are also brown, and it is the same for the beluga and narwhal. That is another odd thing about them that I have noticed.

Interviewer: Have you experienced yourself or heard about stories regarding the size or shape of the tusks, during generations?

Ole: I have not learned further about those things, where the tusks of whales during generations grow smaller or bigger, but I have noticed, as I said a little while ago, and I believe there are two types of narwhal, the ones with the rounded breasts, and shorter, and the others, which are long and slender, with very long tusks, and those are such beautiful whales. 

Interviewer: How flexible and soft is the whale’s tusk, and is there a difference in the softness between the male and the female?

Ole: I absolutely and definitively believe, that the tusk in itself is very strong on its body while it is alive. It can sometimes be bent a lot, without breaking. But when the body is recently deceased, and it gets bent, it breaks. It is as such that while alive, it can bend a lot, but sometimes as we pull them up, we end up bending it by accident, you see, but there are some that don’t break. I believe that when alive, the warmth from the circulation of its own blood keeps the tusk from breaking, as there is a blood cavity in the tusk. And I am not able to find out if the female tusk is stronger. And I have not learned about it either.

Interviewer: Have you seen or heard of a tusk placed on the right side on a male and females, and if so, how often?

Ole: No, I have not heard of such a thing. The whales always have their tusk on the left side.

Interviewer: How often do you hear of tusks in pairs?

Ole: It’s seldom. Those are seldom. They are not often. They are seldom. Whales with a pair of tusks, is what we call those that have tusks, one above the other, that are so beautiful.

Interviewer: Are those with two tusks male or…?

Ole: Yes. Mostly male, I have not seen a female with such a tusk. And I have not heard of a female with a pair of tusks, and they are males.

Interviewer: On a whale with two tusks, their placement on the left and the right side, how can they be compared with each other?

Ole: I find that difficult to answer. 

Interviewer: What is the strangest use of the tusk by the whale that has been witnessed, and has the use of the tusk for the strangest thing been seen?

Ole: Yes, that is those with big tusks who drowned as they could not get air, to the point that they speared one another with their tusks because they couldn’t find a spot through which they could breathe. It was strenuous for them. And some speared their fellow whales with their tusk. It is perhaps so, that they were all crowding the little opening wanting to get air, and this happened, and I know of no other way it has been used as a weapon. But then, we would see them appearing all at once, sometimes stroking their tusks on each other. Those were many whales who had not been alarmed by sound they needed to flee from, they would show their tusks and of course they would fall back into the water, sometimes doing this, it is said that they are loving each other or are male friends, you know. [Laughs}. It was an absolute delight to see such a sight. 

Interviewer: When you are hunting the narwhal, do they display certain behaviors

Ole: Their behavior is very varied. Sometimes we can come across them where they are really full having been feeding a lot, and those are only able to dive for a short period of time, and those who dive without having eaten are able to spend a long, long time in the water. They try to flee of course, you see, when they are being chased, they go under water for a long time. If you are easily discouraged, you cannot catch them. Only when the chase has taken place for an extended period do they become easier.

Interviewer: Do you hunt females?

Ole: Females are not hunted now, those that have young, it is not really allowed at all right now. That is really good, in a way. We are able to see those with young, they stand out, with their dear young. 

Interviewer: Have you seen a whale with a tusk that was angry?

Ole: Absolutely not. I have absolutely not seen such things. 

Interviewer: Do you believe that the ones with the tusk use their tusk aggressively or to protect themselves?

Ole: I don’t believe it is quite so. I believe they use it more for getting their food. That is why the ends are broken, perhaps from catching squid, they get it caught somewhere. But it is clear, as we see them travel through really shallow water, as their tusks sit lowest, you see, the tusks of the whales sit here, they go on their back, and the follow the tusk, travelling with the utmost care not to get their tusk hooked anywhere. It can be that those with broken tusks, of course, they have great benefit of it too when trapped in the polynya, you see, to use it for making holes in the ice, to make holes in the ice with their tusks so they can breathe. I have seen many holes that appeared to have been made with a worn tip, in Niaqornaq in the ‘90s, when we had whales trapped in the polynya for a short period, when those whales were trapped at the polynya for a little while, I saw quite a number of such things in this width on the ice. It was said that those were their “alluartorfiit,” their holes. I imagine as they were not able to blow up the ice, they opened it with their tusk. I really don’t doubt that they accidentally can break their precious tusks in doing this. I wonder at what point in their struggling that they break their tusk, as they hardly ever break. 

Interviewer: Now we will discuss their food. How do the narwhal catch their food?

Ole: I know that they have cried very loudly, to the point that the little squid fled and they probably frightened them so that they could gather them into a large crowd. And then the Greenland halibut feel it when the narwhal and belugas arrive, as they flee to the deep waters at a depth more than 1,000 meters. There would be no more Greenland halibut in the shallow waters. In such situations, we fishermen know that the narwhal and belugas have arrived. We, the hunters notice when the Greenland cod that we have placed have fled. And here is another way to notice it: the narwhal eat mostly small squid, they cry at them, to make them feel uncomfortable at the sound of their cry, as a way of hunting them. They apparently also do it with the help of their tusk, and the fact that they are hard, how should I say it, yes, the fact that they are hard. This is what they use as aids when they do their crying. Of course, they do not use it in trying to come up from the water, as they first have to open it, they blow up the ice with the upper back, they don’t collide with it this way.

Interviewer: Do you see what they eat?

Ole: Well, I have watched the beluga feeding. They feed on small fish. They eat fish, sometimes capelin, sometimes Polar cod. Especially when I lived in Aasiaat, we watched the many belugas feeding, sometimes close to Imerissut, and sometimes close to Kitsissoq. It’s difficult to see the narwhal feeding like that. But we watched the beluga having a feast, but their food is not to be found above the water. They eat quite a bit down from the surface of the water.

Interviewer: Is the food eaten by the males, females and the younger young the same?

Ole: I can’t answer that, as we have narwhal and beluga mostly during November and December. And currently, they are spending more time with us because the lack of ice that we have had in the last years, only due to the bad ice stage. When there is ice, out there to the west, they spend their time out there, where we are not at all able to see the big whales. It’s the change of nature, and the increasingly bad ice stage that has been happening in the past years that is causing them to stay around the entrance, and close to us, and that is a lot of whale. 

Interviewer: Do the narwhal try and feed in an area on the ocean where there is a freshwater current?

Ole: I don’t know. The narwhal are deep water animals, but they must travel through beaches when they travel, because they get caught in the nets.

Interviewer: Which fish do they catch mostly?

Ole: It is clear that although the narwhal do not have any teeth, they have Greenland cod in their stomachs, and baby Greenland halibut, and small squid. The belugas eat Greenland cod, I have seen many belugas with Greenland cod and Atlantic cod in their stomachs, not Greenland halibut, but Greenland cod. The Greenland cod and Atlantic cod are noticeably in the belugas’ stomachs. 

Interviewer: How many narwhal stomachs have you opened up?

Ole: Every time we catch a narwhal. We no longer use the contents, the stomachs of the whale as flotation devices for our catch. Earlier, we would very carefully remove them and throw the contents out in such a manner, because we made a flotation device for our catch as a tool for our kayak. Now we just tear them in whatever way, so we look at them as something insignificant. If we want to use it, we pour out the contents, as they also have intestinal worms. Although there is not that much, we save it for the dogs, and out fall the Polar cod, capelin, baby Greenland halibut, and small squid.

Interviewer: Do those with tusks always use their tusks in finding food? 

Ole: It appears to be so. It is helpful to them, of course as it is their only tool. That’s what I believe. However, this certain length from the tip of the tusk has no algae. They clearly do not use the area close to the base of the tusk. This part obviously does not get rubbed, so it gets algae on it, to the point where they are really long. Only the little tip does not have  algae on it.

Interviewer: Have you heard of a narwhal with several tusks?

Ole: The one with the pair of tusks, but I have not seen any beyond that number.

Interviewer: Can you tell a bit about that whale then? 

Ole: It was a narwhal, I have not myself caught one with a pair of tusks, but I have of course caught whales with big tusks. I have caught one with a tusk that was just a bit short of 3 meters in my nets, in Aasiaat. It had an enormous tusk. That one weighed 9 kilos, the tusk of a narwhal. Was it 2 meters and 90-something? I believe about 2 meters and 98 or 97 centimeters, just about 3 meters. A very big tusk. A narwhal with a very big tusk.

Interviewer: Now I will ask about the behavior of the whales with tusks. What do you notice about the behavior of the whales with tusks, with one another?

Ole: Well, the only thing is what I already mentioned where when you are hunting in total silence, how they flirt with each other by touching each other, that is the only thing I know of. Other than that, it is difficult to come up with something as they always are travelling, and staying beneath the thin ice, with their head above the water collecting air, in shifts. No, I haven’t seen one with the tusk use it as a weapon.

Interviewer: Have you or your fellow townspeople seen some using their tusk? What was it seen using it for, please tell. 

Ole: Nope, I have not heard of such a thing. Not even tales about tusks. They don’t seem to be very much that type.

Interviewer: Do the whales with tusks behave in a certain way because of their tusks?

Ole: I don’t know. I don’t know that one. I don’t know about that part. But it is clear that their tusks grow as they mature, as they move toward adulthood, it gets longer. And when they have reached their length, the cavities are sealed, becoming curved at the base and the inside becomes entirely bone. There is a tiny cavity with blood in it and then the tooth’s nerves, you see. They have a tusk with nerves that reach the tip of the tusk. The cavity continues to be sealed with bone with age, and at the base, it turns as such, and it has become mature, a complete elder, they are very heavy, those kinds. And the longest tusk that I ever caught, of nearly 3 meters, was sealed with bone to the base. It therefore weighed 9 kilos, that big tusk.

Interviewer: About those with tusks, have you ever seen or heard of those with tusks using their tusk for something or something else?

Ole: No, I have not heard of them using it for something else, but they made a hole in the ice with it, when the ice was too thick. They would blow out the salt, and use it as their breathing hole, a hole which they made with their tusk. That is the only thing I know of that way.

Interviewer: Have you heard of those with tusks having a guard?

Ole: Nope, I’m not at all able to tell.  

Interviewer: What is the most seldom or strangest thing that you have seen or heard of about the whales with tusks?

Ole: I have not experienced anything strange. Well, we here in the fjord of Uummannaq, our whales are the narwhal, you see, I have not heard of anything strange. And while we lived in Aasiaat and close to Kitsissuarsuk, we caught many narwhals nearby, but never picked up any strange tales.

Interviewer: When the tusk is growing on the whale with a tusk, do they display any particular type of behaviors?

Ole: It most definitely is something that happens in conjunction with their development as they age, therefore, even whales that are not very big, you know, they get only such little tusks, totally black ones, well, males. It is seldom that this happens for the females. Just as little ones, their tusks already show. And they are to grow longer as they get older, if it doesn’t break.

Interviewer: Has it been seen where those with tusks are protecting their females?

Ole: I don’t know, but they must have protected them against the killer whales. For the killer whales, you know. They are really afraid of the other whales, those creatures. That could be.

Interviewer: Do the whales with tusks use their tusk differently around females and the young than when they are amongst other whales with tusks?

Ole: I can’t differentiate that one either. As they do their big travel the same, they travel totally peacefully, you see. Then when they are being chased, they flee and become even many more in the group. After this, when they separate, the females with their young always end up as a separate group from the males. That is a very noticeable thing.

Interviewer: Do the whales with tusks start behaving differently when the females come to their sides?

Ole: I haven’t noticed that one either. But it can be that my fellow hunters have had that experience. It will become apparent as you ask others who go narwhal hunting, it is possible that they have experienced something different from me. I spoke of what I have seen with my own eyes.

Interviewer: Now I will touch on their arrival and division. How many are the whales [in general] when they travel

Ole: That is a very big question. Sometimes, say I travel today towards the north today, you see, there will not be one whale in sight. When I go back there tomorrow, here they are. They have reached that point after their travel in the night, sometimes four of them, sometimes in greater numbers. They are just now about to make an entrance. And with time, some will be east of here, some here, and some north of here, some farther away, just like that. It just depends if they are looking for food and they find a spot, and if they tried to get food during the night, so those are the things. They will be going out again, leaving their feeding place. And their behavior during the night is as such, that if we chase them, you know, they will flee towards the exit of the fjord, and when we stop chasing them, they turn inwards again. They are returning to their place of food. That is how they are.  

Interviewer: Do they sometimes travel individually?

Ole: Yes, there are also quite a few individual ones. And when there are more of them, and there are plenty of the whales, then it is difficult to hit the individual ones, like two or three, that is how they are. And some are gathered in many groups of many, that are everywhere and not far from each other. Just like the story I told when I first started telling my story, as we were travelling to Illorsuit with the helicopter which we flew above the whales for a long time, some were going far northward, in a long narrow procession. Those travelling whales were beautiful, with one leader that was totally white, which means that it was maybe old. 

Interviewer: When they are travelling, do they travel according to their identity, their age, or their identification in some other way?

Ole: I think it totally is as such. The more mature ones are probably at the front. For example, those that are older. I therefore ascertained when we watched them while riding the helicopter this winter in such darkness that those in the lead were whiter than the others. That is they were a bit older.

Interviewer: What types of whales [in general] travel together.

Ole: I believe the beluga and the narwhal are more inclined to be that way. Those other very large whales that we see do not arrive in many numbers. But I also do know that pilot whale travel in great numbers together. This is noticeable when they arrive here for a short period. I have not seen other whales [in general] being this way. The narwhal and beluga tend to travel together. It of course depends on their number, and some will have ended up in Vajgat already, towards the south, northward in Disko Bay, and some still here. And then later, they take off when it ices over at the east. 

Interviewer: In regards to those who travel together, such as the narwhal and belugas travelling together, which one can be the leader, the one with the tusk or the female?

Ole: I also believe that the males are the first ones to travel southward. And then the females follow their route afterwards. And behind those are other males. 

Interviewer: When they are travelling up, do those with the tusks get placed distinctly in comparison to the females, the young, and the younger ones?

Ole: Nope, I don’t believe they do it that way. One thing is pretty clear and that is that the smaller ones are more together, those which we refer to as “qernarissut”, [“the complete black ones”], joined with females. The big males tend to be with the females more, they don’t tend to gather by the great big whales. We therefore catch those with big tusks when we start the season catching whales, and they turn smaller later, with the complete black ones. 

Intewviewer: How often do the narwhal die from being iced in at the ice-free areas on the ice?

Ole: That is also a very big question. But of what I know, the only ones are those down there, maybe near Serfat and near Ikorfat, which happened while I lived in Aasiaat, where they found many whales who died from suffocation underneath the ice, there were many whales.  

Interviewer: Which particular type of weather is cause to or is there anything in particular that happens, making it difficult for the narwhal to flee?

Ole: Yes. As an example, when their current home in the east gets an easterly wind, and there is a northerly wind in the west, then they stay here. But as soon as the northerly wind arrives, they immediately flee towards the exit of the fjord, because the ice will close off this area. But during the time that this event happened, the polynya that had whales trapped there and during the arrival of whales trapped in the polynya, the weather could be so good, with no wind to be had. And they would get iced in during those conditions. Due to these conditions, we were able to catch whales trapped at the polynya. These events that we came across determine that they went beyond their ability to move to another place, they went beyond the place they were not able to reach, as the hole is apparently in the middle, and that is why during a nice winter, the ten of them, you know, they suffocated, and they came across many whales, and only a few were still living. Maybe the battery [recorder] is running out. [Laughs] 

Interviewer: How often do those with tusks and females travel together?

Ole: I believe that the females and the mighty males do not travel together, because we start off our narwhal season with big males with big tusks. And then later, the females arrive, along with the small and young, totally black ones. They come last, they come a bit later. 

Interviewer: At what point are you able to feel that they have gathered?

Ole: I believe that at the time, just before they are to leave the fjord, they leave pretty well together heading towards the exit of the fjord, with others just a little bit behind, depending on the ice formation here of our fjord. If it doesn’t ice over, like we saw this past year, you know, there were some that ended up close to Kitsissuarsuit, many were still here, that is how it was.

Interviewer: Do you recognize some of the narwhal, for example, do the same narwhals return, every year?

Ole: I’m not personally able to differentiate them as there are so many different preys. I can’t say, one I saw last year, one I saw the next year. There are so many of similar looking narwhal. 

Interviewer: I will ask about broken tusks.

Ole: Yes.

Interviewer: What are the reasons for the tusks breaking? 

Ole: As I said, when they are iced in, they must break it sometimes, while making a breathing hole in the ice. And without a doubt, as these are food seekers, sometimes it must happen at the bottom of the ocean, maybe sometimes on the rocks, or when there is a pile of rocks, they can get it hooked and break it; the narwhal tusks are normally really rarely breakable.

Interviewer: Have you seen a tusk or have you heard of a broken tusk that had been sealed with another tusk or another object?

Ole: Yes. I can respond very clearly to this. While I was further in the fjord, I have seen a whale, and also in Kitsissuarsuk, where the tip of a tusk had been immersed into the broken piece, that also was broken. It had immersed it and broken it at a width that was so wide, that it sealed the open cavity. It was clear that a fellow whale had helped him, maybe because he had such a bad toothache, because it was in such pain. When the tusks are newly broken, the new breaks towards the base are thin. This means that maybe because they have toothaches just like us, just like me, you see, because they had such painful toothaches, they immersed another piece and broke it off. And I have heard people from Qeqertarsuaq who also told such a story. 

Interviewer: How often do you see tusks that have been broken? 

Ole: The tusks that are caught these days, this year, they are not many in comparison to before, I didn’t come across many broken ones this year. In the past, when we used to catch more whales, the broken tusks were quite common. Sometimes for example, some that had been broken off this big, but some with a very small piece of the tip broken. You don’t see those things anymore.  They are rare. 

Interviewer: Do they behave differently than those without broken tusks?

Ole: I don’t know. No, it is just the same way. It is hard to differentiate with that one also. They have that one behaviour. Their ability to continually dive and come up from the water, and their great ability to flee, like anything else, it is just so. Only when we catch them do we find out that their tooth is broken. It is hard to differentiate. 

Interviewer: Do they get placed in a different spot when they are travelling?

Ole: I find that difficult to respond to also. I haven’t seen any who are just travelling, the whales we have here are ones that want to eat. They come in to eat.

Interviewer: The mating of those with broken tusks, the mating [unclear] of those with broken tusks, is it successful?

Ole: I don’t believe they are here during the mating season. Maybe close to springtime, or when it is about to turn to fall, through their travel down this way, they could be mating, or in Qimusseriarsuaq. I haven’t seen any mating in this area. 

Interviewer: Have you seen or heard of one who had a tusk that was broken, that had been fixed?

Ole: Well, the one that I mentioned. Another had immersed it into the cavity, breaking it, helping its fellow whale. It sealed the hole. But I have not seen other broken ones in that state.

Interviewer: So the ones who have a broken tusk, do not get a new tusk?

Ole: No, but their tusks grow longer. They grow to be long. I have not seen one very, very old one that has turned completely black. 

Interviewer: Does a specific break of the tusk occur?

Ole: What?

Interviewer: Does a specific break, an accidental break occur?

Ole: I don’t know, that one is difficult. These species of course, they spend their time in the ice. The narwhal are animals that live on the ice, and it can be that when they are iced in, while carrying out a certain action, that they accidentally break. That is more probable. I expect that more.

Interviewer: On which part of the tusk, on the one-third mark, in the middle, or right at the point of the tusk proper do the breaks occur?

Ole: I have tended to see broken tusks closer to the tip, sometimes at the middle; like right at the middle, right where the middle point could be. Sometimes it is broken at this width. I haven’t seen one broken at this width. But they tend to break at a point that are not really wide yet, sometimes only the tip, and some closer to the tip. And they just look so much worse as a sales item. As an example, some of the tip of this length can be broken a bit. Undoubtedly, they have used it as a patch for their fellow whales. 

Interviewer: What kind of break does the break have, is it pretty or does it pulverize or is it curved, or with a sharp tip?

Ole: I tend to see sharp-tipped breaks, but a break that has become this way, those are seldom breaks as they are not even breaks, as it is such a fine object, when it suddenly breaks like that, you know. This is what I have heard, of such things. 

Interviewer: The look, do the edges look like that they have tried to be fixed or are they open, in their sharp state?

Ole: Well, they appear to have accidentally broken them off, it is therefore not possible to see

Interviewer: Now I will ask a bit about lice. Do the lice tend to lay more on the older whales with tusks or those with larger tusks?

Ole: No, the narwhal or belugas get lice when they have an old wound. And the same when the skin around the tusk has peeled, then it develops lice on it. And if they on their tail, for example have scraped their skin somewhere, it is such that polar bears also hunt narwhal and beluga, they can develop lice toward the tip if there is an opening. You cannot see lice on physically healthy ones. They are more commonly found around the edge of the tusk, when the blubber has deteriorated. Those are the places where lice can be found.

Interviewer: Is the number of lice the same amount when it is on a male with a tusk, a female with a tusk and on a whale with a pair of tusks?

Ole: It is common when they don’t have skin that has peeled, that they do not have many lice. When they have peeled skin, and it has been exposed around their tusk, then they have a bit of lice, and nothing else. They are difficult to differentiate. 

Interviewer: If the whale with a tusk is older, does it have more spots with lice?

Ole: I have not experienced such, as it is such that sometimes those with really long tusks have absolutely no lice. So it is that a totally woundless whale has no lice. They appear to only get lice when they have a wound. Of course, creatures from the sea, you know. Those kinds of things.

Interviewer: Can you find lice on the bodies of narwhals?

Ole: Yes, if there are old wounds. For example, if there has been a failed shooting or if it received a cut, then there will already be lice on it. When they become a bit old, an old wound, on an old one.

Interviewer: Is the number of lice the same number on the broken tusks like the others?

Ole: No, there are no lice on the tusks. They are only on the inner side. On the inner side, like on the side, you know. There are none at the broken point. 

Interviewer: Have you seen or have you heard of a whale with a tusk without lice, if so, please tell about the state of the tusk and the whale?

Ole: The tusk is completely healthy when it doesn’t at all have lice around it. But it is as though that every time the whale has bled on a spot, close to its tusk, like we also have a bit of wear, tear, at the sides of our mouth, you see, so does the whale also tear, develop tear, and under this condition, the edge develops lice. That’s all. This is to say that a healthy narwhal or beluga does not have lice anywhere else on its body.

Interviewer: Now I will speak to behaviors during hunting. Have you seen narwhals tending to young, can you tell about what they did?

Ole: Yes, if we think back to the time when the prohibition to hunt the females had not been put in place, when the dear young were shot, the mothers would try and take them under the water, that’s the only one. However, if one did not shoot the calf and accidentally shot the mother, shot at it, the calf would try and bring it down to the water, even if it was lying to the side, these two supported each other, the calf and the mother. I have never seen the males protecting the females. 

Interviewer: Are there stories of the way that narwhals tend to the young in your community>

Ole: The only thing that I have noticed is that only when they are being hunted or when the killer whale get close to them, the mother will protect its young. When they are not getting wounded then they just follow each other. That’s the way it is. I have also seen one where the mother was breathing at its calf this way, through its nose, having sucked it in, with their noses against each other, and they were travelling like this in the water. So, the mother was giving its young some oxygen, because it was suffocating. It was obvious, the dears appeared to be travelling on the wrong route. I have seen those dear things. One, exactly, one mother, did I watch from my boat breathing air into its dear young. Of course, it is a creature of the sea, but it is incredible that it was able to do such a thing in the water. They touched their noses against each other like this. 

Interviewer: Do the same whales with tusks and females return every year? 

Ole: That question is difficult to answer, just as the previous one. We do not have markings on them; if those with the little radios were to return, we would see them. When they have put little radios on them, we don’t even see them again around here. We don’t even hear about where they are. Therefore, I am not able to say that these whales return every year. Of course, maybe they must have a navigator who knows about the routes, and no doubt, an older one. They follow the route where you go searching for food. Could it be possible, but of course, I cannot recognize the whales as they are inside the water and I only see them during the part of the day when the days are the shortest. There can be some familiar ones that we chase. For example, whales with white spots on them, if I shot at it, you see, when I shoot it, without killing it, if it appears out of the water, if it dives, and stays in the water, and it appears out of the water again, I will recognize it, this is what I shot at, and if I continue shooting at it. They sometimes have white scars around here, sometimes anywhere, somewhere, that is the only thing you can recognize them by. A scar from some time ago, they have lice on them.

Interviewer: Do some females have several of those with tusks around them? 

Ole: No, but mother and young, it is seldom that they have two young, the females. But I see some once in a while, with male young. But the other young can be bigger, and be one year old, and the other will be a small one. So, the mother can travel with the two young.

Interviewer: Do those with tusks and the females act the same or differently? Either one of you can tell about the different behaviors. 

Ole: I think it just depends on the size of the calf. When the calves are small, the mother is left behind, every time, by the big ones, that is when the calves are very small. So, when they have really young calves, they always end up at the back, even if they are giving oxygen to their calves.

Interviewer: Are there stories about their different behaviors or can you tell about them around their different behaviors, please? 

Ole: No, but I suppose we could have some stories, like if there was sunshine like today, and one watched the whales since the morning, you know, what the whales were doing. But the whales stay with us during the dark period, and the little bit of light is a bit more than two hours, but we are able to go hunting for them. It can be a bit chaotic because you so badly want to catch the whale, in the little bit of light, and therefore, I have not tried to notice if they are, if they have such behaviors, or what they do. Our opportunity is so short, a little more than two hours daily, of light. 

Interviewer and Dr. Nweeia: [unclear] 

Dr. Nweeia: When we asked him earlier about the classifications [unclear]

Ole: Then I said there were two, I said there were two different ones, right? The others had rounded breasts, and the others were slender and long. But then, there was the totally black one, with a small tusk, that still has the umbilical cord attached to it and completely black, a calf, “uiaq”, those are the different ones. Then there is the female, an elderly female, the witch, “arnaquassaaq” without young. Then there is the one with the calf, the whale has a young, “uialik”. And if there was another one to the young, “uiaa” and they are totally black. Those are the classifications, the names. And then the young “uiaq”.

Interviewer: What was it now that you answered about when they were with females with tusks, how often were the ones with the tusks and the females seen together?

Ole: Yes, it is very difficult to see here. But they tell about them in Qimusseriarsuaq, as they mate there, you see, together, the female and the male. But here, when they are here, they already have had their calf, already mated, so it’s difficult to see. But I pointed out the two males who very beautifully were rubbing their tusks against each other, they were doing that to each other, I told about how they would come out of the water, and do this with their tusks, as if they are being friends, you know. They were playing. But they didn’t mate. They didn’t mate.

Interviewer: Did the older ones go first?

Ole: Yes. That is the thing that is different about it; all the others travelled beside each other, but the first ones, who were a bit farther west, went behind each other; the others were travelling beside each other. And their leader was a white whale with a tusk.

Interviewer: The whales with tusks, whose tusks that were broken, for example there, when you watched those, were they placed in a particular way?

Ole: No, I didn’t see any with broken tusks of those that we flew above. They all had tusks, mature ones and very big ones, they were all whitish. That is, they were older whales. 

Dr. Nweeia: Let’s say if there were 100 males. How many would have no tusk?

Ole: No, I did not see any without tusks amongst those. They all had tusks, maybe five, who travelled in such a way. I think they had the oldest leading them. It was whitish. But those behind were about more than ten, beside each other, in a circle, you see, in their usual way. I wholeheartedly believe that those that I saw were probably travelling south to Nuussuaq’s [incomplete] out of the fjord. That is what I believe. Those whales were old.

Interviewer: If we use the whales as an example, if 100 whales were to travel together here, how many of those have tusks, the males with tusks, how is it again, if males in the number of 100 were to travel together, how many of them would have tusks?

Ole: If we use as an example, the thing it depends on which route the whales are coming in, you see, if they were the first ones, the very first ones, just about all of them will have tusks, with hardly any small ones. Those are the first set that is to come in here. The next ones are small, they are mostly mixed with small ones. Jens Ole will say the same thing, I know. The first ones who come in here are adult males. Those are the ones at the front, the leaders.

Interviewer: I think he [Dr. Nweeia] would like to ask about that one again. If for example we say that perhaps narwhals with tusks, or maybe if narwhals enter, the males, some of them do not have tusks, what is the percentage it can be sometimes, are they really few or are there really many? 

Ole: There are not many of those without tusks. There are always more of the ones with tusks. The only ones without the tusk are the small ones. What I called as “issuttoorsuit”, those are rare, very big whales without tusks. All, all and all of the males have tusks when they enter into here. The females with tusks are the only ones that are rare. Say this to him and those females are further behind, those females without tusks. But the “qinnarissut”, the small totally black ones, with short tusks are kind of last. The males always have tusks. And males are greater in number of those that come into this area that we see lately, and we are not allowed to hunt females now. We see those. 

Interviewer: How often do you see the females with tusks?

Ole: Those are rare. They are very rare. If we say that we catch 20, there will be none. There won’t even be one with a tusk. If we catch 50, maybe 1. That is the way it is.