Tulkun

Tulkun
Species Information
Na'vi name	Tulkun
Lifespan	150 - 250 years
Habitat	Oceans
Physical Information
Size	Males: 93 - 263 ft (28-80 m) Females: 65.5 - 230 ft (20-70 m) (size varies on age/maturity)
Skin color	Black, blue, and white with red crest (some individuals are tattooed)
Behind the Scenes
First seen	Pandora: The World of Avatar
Last seen	Avatar: The Way of Water

Tulkun are a large marine whale-like species native to the oceans of Pandora. These sea animals are highly intelligent and bond with the Metkayina clan.

Despite their sentience, the Resources Development Administration slaughters them to harvest their amrita.

Culture

Tulkun are highly intelligent creatures with their own unique philosophy. Ian Garvin mentions they are likely smarter than humans, as well as being more "spiritual" and "emotional". However, this intelligence can only be expressed in its own unique way, similar to whales. This intelligence has allowed the tulkun to form a culture among themselves, including the establishment of the Tulkun Way, an ancient pacifist doctrine stemming from their early history that forbids all forms of killing.

Tulkun are slightly transcendent, being sentient and highly cultured, with their own rich family histories, mathematics, poetry, and sophisticated music. They have their own language, individual names and can communicate with the Na'vi. While the latter use sign language to interact with the mammals, the tulkun use vocal sounds and eye contact. They are very close to all of marine reef clans; for instance, the Metkayina clan see them as siblings. Each Metkayina member engages a lifelong bond with a tulkun early in their life, whom they call their spirit brother/sister. They celebrate each others' families, the birth of a new child and mourn the loss of a family member. Tulkun can access memories stored within Eywa and are able to share their experiences with the Na'vi.

Like the Na'vi, the tulkun are divided into clans. It has been indicated that these clans have their own hierarchy to them. It is known that a tulkun matriarch and patriarch are the top of said hierarchy.

Adult tulkun are observed to have tattoos on their snouts and bellies similar in style to that of the reef clans.

Anatomy

Shape of the tulkun's irises.

The tulkun is presumably the largest fauna on Pandora, being up to 300 feet (91.4 meters) long when fully grown, 3x bigger than even the largest Blue Whale. They also inhabit near-shore waters despite their size and can breach out of the water. They have dark grey/blue skin with areas of white coloration on their underbellies and colorful, stripe-like markings across their body. Characteristic of other Pandoran life forms, tulkun have four eyes, two on each side of the head, that are orange in color, and the shapes of irises are different between larger and smaller eyes; the irises on smaller eyes resemble that of Terran goats. They have six flippers, although the last two have merged to become part of its tail, similar to Terran seals. They have six blowholes on their backs and highly durable armor plating across their body.

Payakan showing his speed to Lo'ak.

They can also reach fast speeds at 25mph, which is around the speed of the fastest human athletes. Their lifespans are long but can vary greatly from 150 to 250 years. They are also sexually dimorphic with the males typically being 8-10 meters larger and having bigger, more colorful crests than the females.

A tulkun's queue located inside its mouth.

To protect their young, the tulkun have a single queue inside of their mouths. They have two sensory organs protruding from the bottom of their snouts. The most striking part of the tulkun are its pair of echolocation organs that appear as large, brightly colored head crests that protrude from the front of its snout.

A vial of amrita.

Tulkun produce a special substance from a gland in their brains dubbed "amrita" that completely stops the aging process of humans, which turned them into prime targets for whaling operations within the Resources Development Administration. According to Mick Scoresby, a vial (around 1 liter) of amrita would sell for $80 million.

Lifestyle

The Tulkun breed on average once every 2-3 years. The gestation period in females lasts around 18 months and only one calf is born at a time. Tulkun babies remain close to their mothers for the first few years of their lives, which is an important time in social development. They have a higher proportion of body fat compared to adults. In the first years of life they are especially susceptible to attacks by predators, which is why they hide in their mothers' mouths when they feel threatened. The young acquire greater independence after a few years, although they reach full adulthood only after about 10 years. Young tulkun are very lively and love to play, and by the age of a few months they are as agile and fast as the adults.

Every year, on a particular day, the tulkun and their young gather near the village of Awa’atlu, in the Cove of the Ancestors. Here, all the young tulkun born in the last year are taken to the Spirit Tree to connect with Eywa for the first time. This calf communion is also attended by the pod's spiritial brothers and sisters of the Metkayina clan, who also bring their newborn children to connect them to the Pandoran Neural Network. This ritual is sacred to both species and is an important part of their shared culture.

Diet and Feeding Technique

While tulkun share many similarities to that of Terran baleen whales, tulkun do not have baleen, meaning that any prey that are too small can easily escape from its jaw. Tulkun must rely on larger prey that are far too big to be filtered, and it is possible that tulkun have evolved much larger esophagus so that they do not choke on any large prey they swallow.^{[citation needed]} Payakan, who is considered to be a juvenile, is shown eating a school of fish that is appropriate to his size.

History

Early History

In the time of the First Songs, tulkun were aggressive, violent, vindictive, and highly territorial. They often killed each other, but at some point they discovered that this attitude led to further escalation of aggression and over time, they developed a strong pacifism and a sense of morality that forbade them from killing other living creatures. From then on, any tulkun who commits such an act, regardless of the circumstances, becomes an outcast among their own kind.

Tulkun Hunting

As of 2170, tulkun are being hunted and killed by the Resources Development Administration's Cetacean Operations to extract the Amrita in their brains. This was ordered and authorized by Frances Ardmore who contracted Scoresby. Tulkun hunting begins with a Seawasp following a pod of tulkun to tag one as a target. The target chosen is usually a tulkun mother with a calf as she will not leave the calf, who swims slower. The Seawasp shoots a tracking beacon into the armor of the tulkun before regrouping with the Cet-Ops fleet.

Ro'a killed by the RDA.

The hunting process begins with the S-76 SeaDragon mothership deploying its fleet of boats and submersibles that give chase to the tulkun pod. Picador boats shoot depth charges to force the pod to surface and then herd away the pod from the target using sonic cannons. Next, Mako Submersibles shoot floater harpoons at the target's fins, further slowing it to near-total immobilization. Finally, the gunman on the Matador boat shoots an explosive-tipped harpoon into the underbelly of the tulkun, which explodes from within and kills the target.

To extract amrita from the tulkun, the carcass is collected by Crab Suits and returned to the mothership. The extraction team enters the mouth via an extending platform. Amrita extraction is straightforward with most processes done with automated computers and machines. The team locates the gland where amrita is present and a drill pierces the tulkun's skull to gain access. A syringe is inserted into the opening and the amrita is drawn through it into a large vial. The rest of the tulkun is discarded; the floater bags are cut and removed so that the carcass sinks to the ocean bed, wherein it is less likely to anger the Na'vi if discovered.

List of Known Individuals

Payakan ♂

(spirit brother of Lo'ak; outcast)

Ro'a ♀ †

(spirit sister of Ronal; killed by Cet-Ops)

Ro'a's Son ♂ †

(Roa's calf; killed by Cet-Ops)

Tsireya's Spirit Sister ♀

(spirit sister of Tsireya)

Rotxo's Spirit Brother ♂

(possible spirit brother of Rotxo)

Payakan's Mother ♀ †

(killed by Cet-Ops)

Ta'nok ♀

(Payakan's friend; outcast)

Trivia

• In the original script, their taxonomy is listed as Megalocetus Plachydermis. It is unknown if this is still canon.
• Tulkun are largely similar to Terran whales, which have gone extinct due to human activity.
  • They resemble and occupy a similar ecological niche to whales on Earth, being large filter feeders.
    • Tulkun particularly resemble humpback whales due to their large pectoral fins, coloration and head shape.
  • The hunting of Tulkun for amrita is similar to the hunting of sperm whales for oil.
• The Māori people, the inspiration source of the Metkayina clan, have traditionally regarded whales as important figures such as being incarnations of Tangaroa, the water god, Taniwha (mystical beings), and as tribal guardians. Additionally, there are a number of whale-related legends, including the famous Paikea, the "Whale Rider" and a descendant of Tangaroa.
  • The 2002 film Whale Rider, which featured Paikea, also involved Cliff Curtis in its production.
• As shown through Payakan’s vision, tulkun can see color, although it is slightly yellowed. This shows that unlike whales and dolphins, tulkun are not colorblind.
• James Cameron mentioned at D23 Brazil in November 2024 that the Tulkun is his favorite creature.

Gallery

See the image gallery for Tulkun