The shaft of the ceremonial mace is the whorled tusk of a narwhal, a small Arctic whale. The door handles are of walrus tusk.

They do not have a set migration pattern, unlike some other whale species - which raises questions about how they may adapt in future, if the projected declines in summer Arctic sea ice materialise.

To protect the whale form the cold of the Arctic seas, nature has provided it with a thick covering of fat called blubber.