Narwhals - Do They Play With Their Food? (6/16/25)

Grownups, Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to Wow in the World early and ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or Wondery Kids Plus on Apple Podcasts. Hey, Wowzer fans, it's Guy Raz and Mindy here, and Mindy, can you believe we have our very own Wow in the World STEM toys? I know! And look, they even have our faces on them! It's so bonker balls.

Grownups, we are so excited to share our Wow in the World STEM toys with the future scientists in your life. And now you can find our toys at select Walmart locations near you and on... From the ultimate high-flying air rocket to the light-up terrarium, there's something for every Wowzer in your world to play and tinker with. Wow in the World STEM Toys, now available at Walmart. That's it. And now let's get back to the wow. The bubbles are a mixture of magnificent proportions.

There we go. Better. Wow, this place is real dumb. Who made this mess? Anywho, now that we're awake, let's take a look at our to-do list for the day. Okay, let's see here. It says, uh, write a to-do list, practice serious space in the mirror, schedule dance party for one, eat cheese, go to the grand opening of the neighborhood pool. The neighborhood pool!

Ahoy! Mindy, are you up? The new neighborhood pool is opening today. I know, Guy Raz. I am so excited I could jump out the window. What? But I won't. Well, hurry up and get... Okay, okay, uh, let me just pack up my stuff real quick, and I'll meet you outside. Oh, and will you call Grandma G-Force, Thomas Fingerling, and Dennis to let them know? They're already there. G-Force and Fingerling camped out outside the gate last night, and Dennis is working at the snack.

Lucky? Anyway, they're already there. Hurry up and get packed up. Okay, okay. I'll meet you outside in 30 seconds. Great. See you then. Okay, Reg. We gotta get packed up for a day at the pool. Hand me that tote bag over there. Thank you. Okay, let's see here. Underwater magnifying goggles for underwater detective work. Emergency cheese. Inflatable donkey. Backup inflatable donkey.

Uh, glitter, mustaches in case I need a new identity, electric armpit fans, underwater sandwich, my pool noodle named Kevin. Hi, Kevin! Swim suit, shrimp suit, narwhal suit, birth certificate, superhero cape, and kitchen sink. Fits perfectly. Did I miss anything, Reg? Oh yeah, how could I forget? A towel! Better grab 14 just to be safe. Get in there, towels. Get in there. Okay, ready to go, Red.

It looks like you packed everything but the kitchen sink. Nope, never mind. There's the sink. You think I would forget the kitchen sink? Here, now help me get it back in the bag. Let's get to the pool. Think you could hold the bad guy, Roz? Oh, uh, sure.

really awaken your sinuses. Hello, welcome to the pool passes, please. Oh, yeah. Mindy, do you have our pool passes? You know it, Guy Raz. They're at the bottom of the pool bag. What? Just stick around a little. I think they might be under the waterproof pizza. Every year I promise myself that I'm going to finally put boundaries in place. While you're looking for your passes, I'll go over the pool's rules. Oh, that's okay. We don't need any rules. Yes, you do.

Number one, no pizza in the pool. Number two, no peeing in the pool. Number three, no swimming while the lifeguards are napping. Number four... Found them! Two pool passes. Yes! Thank you. Have a great time. Oh, and remember, the most important pool rule is... Oh, no thank you. Come on, Guy Raz, and don't forget the bag. Walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk. Walk. Walk. I already told you, Fingerling. I'm the unicorn whale. You're the scared little fish. Now I, I'm the unicorn whale.

No colloquial names in the pool. Unicorn whales are called narwhals. They're a species of whale that live in the Arctic. Whale, huh? This is your first warning. Aw, man. That is a very knowledgeable lifeguard. Yeah. Bye. I should be the narwhal. You be the arctic tarfish. Why, I oughta. Oh, boy. Hi, Grandma G-Force. Hi, Thomas Fingerling. Mandy, tell Fingerling here that I should be the narwhal.

with the majestic horn. GeForce, girl narwhals don't have horns. Only the boy narwhals do. Whoa, don't you make whale shells at me! Quit it! What in the... Actually, that's not entirely true. It ain't. That's it, garage. Lay the snake down. While it is true that most narwhals with horns are male, on rare occasion, female narwhals can have them too. Booyah! Rats.

And a narwhal's horn isn't actually a horn at all. What? It's a tooth. Oh, my. You two are blowing my mind. Yeah, it's a specialized tooth called a tusk, and it just... keeps growing throughout the narwhals' entire life. And some can grow up to ten feet long. Wow, that's longer than two g-forces stacked on top of each other. So then I should be two! then. What now? No being two narwhals at the same time. You may only be...

These are very specific rules. What is going on here anyway? Is this some sort of game you're playing? No. Yes, it is. We're trying to play a game of narwhal and fish. where the narwhal hunts the fish and then eats it. But that narwhal up there in the high chair said no eating fish in the pool. Well, the good news is that you're both technically... People? So if Grandma G-Force eats Thomas Fingerling, you won't be breaking any rules. Hooray! No eating people in the pool!

Man, well, if I can't eat Fingerling in the pool, then how are we supposed to have any food?

fun out here. Well, what if I told you that I just read a new scientific study? No. No scientific studies in the pool. That's what I'm talking about. Objection. Okay, fine. Just one scientific study allowed in the pool at a time. Yes! What if I told you that I just read a new scientific study in the journal Frontiers and Marine Science that discovered that narwhals in the Arctic not only use their tusks to hunt.

for their fish, but that they might actually be using them to play with their fish. Kyraz, are you suggesting that narwhals might play with their food? Well, according to this study, yes. Neat. Okay, Grandma G-Force, you put on this narwhal suit. Ooh, a narwhal suit. Don't mind if I do. Ah, hey, no fair. How come nobody told me that a narwhal was just a big blotchy sea sausage with a round head and no beak?

Yeah, I didn't know a narwhal had short stubby flippers like that and a tail that looks like it was put on backwards or something. Look at me, everybody. I'm a sea sausage. I don't think that's a... Okay. And Thomas Fingerling, I need you to dress up in this Arctic charfish suit. Oh, hey, dude. Oh. Oh, snap, that's an ugly fish. Suit up, Thomas Fingerling! Okay, fine. Well, anyway...

As I was saying, I just read this fascinating new study where some marine biologists from Florida Atlantic University were studying narwhals in the Canadian high Arctic seas. Wait a minute, Guy Raz. The reason we don't know a whole lot about narwhals is because they're super shy and hard to spot in the wild. Well, that's true. So last August, these researchers, with the help of some local Inuit communities...

found a spot to set up camp, and from there, they flew drones with cameras attached over a spot in the water where narwhals had been previously spotted. So basically... Basically, they got a tip on where narwhals like to spend their summer vacations, and then they spied on them with drone cams? Well, I guess that's one way to put it. Anyway, it turns out that this spot was not only perfect for a narwhal summer,

but it was also the perfect spot to observe them as well. How so? Well, the waters were calm and shallow and clear. And not only that... This whole area had almost 24 hours of daylight in August. Ah, so perfect narwhal snooping conditions. Ooh, did someone say perfect snooping conditions? No snooping. I'm not even in the pool, Chad. And I'm not snooping. I'm eavesdropping. No, Dennis is talking to Chad the lifeguard. Well, lucky for me, I'm not a Dennis. I'm a narwhal.

See my narwhal horn and sausage body? You're not a narwhal. You're just a dentist wearing your snack shack corndog costume upside down. What? Dennis, get back to your post at the Snack Shack immediately. Thank you. Coming! I'll be back, Ted. Anyway, once the researchers brought all... All of their Narwhal spy cam footage back to the lab, they noticed something fascinating. What?

Fascinating. What was it? Well, they noticed that in addition to using their tusks to do things like explore and hunt for fish and show off to attract mates... They also noticed that the narwhals seemed to be using their tusks to play. No way! As they continued to observe the narwhals, they discovered that... At times, they would use their tusks to chase down prey like Arctic charfish. I'll get you, my fishy.

Swim away! Swim away! But not use their tusks to stun them or spear them or even catch and eat them. So, kind of like a game of tag where you chase the other person but ultimately let them win to keep... Well, yeah, at least that's what it looked like to these researchers. They even noticed that at certain times, the narwhals would actually slow down just enough to keep the fish near to the...

tips of their tusks, but not close enough to touch them. Almost like they were teasing them or something. They even noticed that when the narwhals did touch the fish in these moments, they would only use gentle taps or nudges. big difference from what it must feel like to be a fish hunted down by a narwhal as prey.

I mean, do you think that the charfish even knew that they were not in any real danger of being eaten? Well, it certainly appeared that way. The researchers also noticed that the fish didn't seem to be trying to escape from the narwhals either. What? So narwhals like to play with their food too. Well, these researchers are reluctant to use the word play until they have a chance to do more research to know for sure, but...

Yeah, I mean, that's certainly what it looked like to them. Well, now I want to get in there and play narwhal. Here, Guy Raz, attach this pool noodle to my forehead. Okay. Indeed, the study also mentioned that it was possible that the older narwhals were using this seemingly playful behavior to teach the younger narwhals how to pursue prey. You can only play narwhals with us.

if Gairaz gets in and be the shrimp. A shrimp? Ooh, narwhals love shrimp, Gairaz. And I have a shrimp suit right here in my bag. Oh, boy. Fine! And young Norwell, first things you gotta do is stumb that little shrimp. Uh-huh. And then you're gonna stab it with the tip of your tusk. And then, using the saft of the tusk, you're gonna slap the shrimp. What? Uh, I don't think I like this game. And then...

When that little shrimp is good and dead, you're gonna gobble it all up. Not if I get to that shrimp first! in the pool. Second warning. I'm not Dennis. I'm Super Seagull Man. And I'm here to swoop in and save all the shrimp and fish from the noxious narwhals. Dennis, where did you get that seagull costume? From Mindy's pool bag.

Dennis, back to your snack shack. I'm on a break, Chad. And I'm hungry for real. You got any of those little upside-down Norwell doggies at the snack shack, boy? Oh, boy. Upside down narwhal doggies. I think she means corn dog. Oh. Follow me to the snack. Shack, everyone. Upside down narwhal doggies for everyone. Unless you're a narwhal. Then you have to eat Guy Raz. What? Hold on. Hold on.

Let me finish paying first. You'll knock the pH balance off. Gotta balance the H with the P. That's it. Everyone out of the pool. This message is for you. That's it. Back to the show.

Washington. My wow is that did you know woodpeckers wrap their tongues around their brains to protect their brain so it won't get injured? Isn't that a bonker ball? Hi to Grandma G-Force, Thomas Fingerling, and Dennis. Hi! P.S. Dennis, I know you're studying this. What? in Tennessee, and my around the world is flamingos are pink because of the stuff they eat. Bye, the triple-double of your show.

My name is Sam from Pleasant Grove, Utah. My wow in the world is that mantis shrimp have a punching speed of 50 miles per hour. Love your show. Bye. Blonde, brown, and white. I also want to say hi to Reggie, Grandma G-Force. Okay, fine. Thomas Finkling. Well, which one? Dennis or Static Man? Because they're not the same person. Everybody knows that. I'm Quentin from Snohomish, Washington. I'm seven years old, and my wow in the world is that...

is that wood frogs can hold their pee up to eight months. Bye. Hi, my name is Jane. I'm from New York City. My wow in the world is that Mars has two moons. They have Reggie. And Dennis. Howdy! Hi, I'm Oliver. And I'm Jake. And we're from England. My wife... Is that cavemen? Once drilled into other cavemen's skulls to try and stop headaches. Isn't that bonkables? And my wow is that everybody's hair has traces of gold inside of it. Isn't that Bronco Balls? Say hi to Reggie.

Plum of GeForce. Oh, snap. Thomas Fingerling. Fancy. Dennis, we know you're static, man. Yeah, I don't know. How are you two talking at the same time so good? I'm Dredgy. We can speak pigeon.

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