Narwhals are among the most sea ice-dependent Arctic marine mammals, and their welfare is directly threatened by climate change altering the sea ice conditions they have evolved to navigate.
Narwhals trapped under unexpectedly refreezing ice experience intense panic and can drown in events called savssats that kill hundreds of animals simultaneously. As climate variability increases, the probability of such events may rise even as overall sea ice declines. Individual narwhals in poor ice conditions navigate the stress of unpredictable breathing hole availability. Climate change is simultaneously threatening the sea ice habitat narwhals depend on while increasing the unpredictability of ice conditions that cause mass welfare emergencies.