Narwhals are among the most climate-sensitive Arctic mammals, with their welfare and survival intimately tied to sea ice dynamics that are being fundamentally altered by climate change.
Narwhal welfare is among the most directly and immediately threatened by Arctic climate change of any marine mammal species. Their extreme specialization for life in and under Arctic sea ice means they have limited capacity to adapt to the rapid pace of habitat change. Ice entrapment events, which appear to be increasing in frequency as weather becomes more variable, cause mass suffering and mortality when narwhals become trapped in ice with insufficient breathing holes. The expansion of shipping into newly ice-free Arctic waters creates novel disturbance in habitats previously protected by their remoteness. Protecting narwhal welfare requires climate action at the policy level alongside Arctic shipping regulation and support for Indigenous-led conservation management that integrates traditional ecological knowledge with contemporary welfare science.