They have a magical horn that grants wishes and they love rainbows —

牠們有可以實現願望的魔法尖角，還有牠們喜歡彩虹，還有...

No, no, no, no, no, that's not right.

不對、不對、不對，這不太對。

There are lots of misconceptions and mystery surrounding narwhals.

對於獨角鯨而言，牠們被許多誤解和謎團所環繞。

Let's start with the horn.

讓我們先從角說起。

It's not a horn.

它不是角。

It's the narwhal's left front tooth.

它是獨角鯨口腔左前方的牙齒。

And it's not growing out of the forehead.

而這個牙齒並不是從牠們的額頭長出來的。

It grows out of the lip.

是從嘴唇長出來的。

Other animals have teeth or tusks that grow outside of the mouth, like elephants and walrus, but their tusks are curved.

有其他種動物牠們的牙齒或獠牙是從嘴巴外面長出來的，例如大象和海象，但牠們的獠牙是彎的。

The narwhal tooth is the only straight tusk in the world.

獨角鯨的牙齒是世界上唯一一種直的獠牙。

It's also one of the few teeth that is a spiral shape.

也是少數幾種牙齒是螺旋狀的生物之一。

The tooth grows in a counterclockwise spiral.

這個牙齒是逆時針螺旋狀。

And it is flexible and can bend a foot in any direction without breaking.

而且它有彈性，可以往任何方向折一英呎也不會折斷。

But that's not all.

不只這樣。

The tooth is actually inside out compared to other animals.

這個牙齒與起他動物的相比是裡外相反的。

All the nerves are on the outside, which is a good reason that narwhals wouldn't want to use their sensitive tooth as a sword.

這個牙齒的牙神經都在牙齒外側，這也是為什麼獨角鯨不會想要用牠們敏感的牙齒當成劍使用的原因。

In fact, narwhals have never been witnessed using their tusks to fight.

事實上，獨角鯨從來沒有被目擊使用自己的獠牙來打架。

It is hard to know exactly what the tusk is used for, because narwhals do not survive in captivity.

要知道這個獠牙確切的功用有點困難，因為獨角鯨被捕捉起來後無法存活。

Current theories suggest the tusk could be used to determine social rank, impress the ladies, or communicate information about the water it has traveled through.

目前推斷這些獠牙可以用來決定社會地位、讓獨角鯨女士們驚艷或者交流通過水域的資訊。

Narwhals migrate seasonally and travel in pods through Arctic waters.

獨角鯨季節性的遷徙且成群通過北極海域。

Summers are often spent in the shallow, ice-free waters closer to the coast.

夏天常在靠近海邊，較淺且沒有冰的水域度過。

During the winter, they stay in a smaller area and live among the shifting ice and cracks.

冬天則在較小的區域活動且生活在浮冰還有裂縫之間。

Their underwater life is very secretive.

牠們的水下生活非常神秘。

No one has reported seeing narwhals eat or mate underwater.

從來沒有人看過獨角鯨在水下進食或交配。

The mysterious narwhal has inspired myths around the world.

這樣神秘的獨角鯨啟發了世界各地許多神話。

In the Middle Ages, the narwhal tusk was sold as a unicorn horn.

在中世紀，獨角鯨的獠牙被當作獨角獸的角販售。

Physicians believed it could cure the plague, increase virility, detect poison, and even raise the dead.

當時的醫生相信其獠牙可以治瘟疫、壯陽、測毒甚至起死回生。

No wonder it was worth 10 times its weight in gold and one of the most coveted substances in Europe.

也難怪它在當時值黃金價值的十倍，且是在歐洲最被垂涎的物品之一。

It is said that thrones of Danish kings, utensils of French royalty, and Thanes' scepters were all the left front tooth of this mystical marvel.

據傳丹麥國王的皇冠、法國皇室的餐具以及領主的權杖都是由這神奇物種的左前方牙齒作成的。