One of the current incidents happening in the news up here these days is the two hundred or so Narwhal trapped in the ice near Pond Inlet, the decision to cull them, and the hew and cry over the cull. Darcy has already posted on this issue.
Narwhal, and for the matter the other Arctic whales – Beluga and Bowheads, are extremely well adapted to life in the ice. I remember watching in amazement at the Floe Edge as Narwhal after Narwhal moved out of the area, moments before a shift in the tide or the wind brought miles of pack ice in cutting off open water.
Even with that marvelous adaptation whales occasionally get trapped in the ice. It has happened for millennia, and will continue to happen from time to time. I can recall at least one other occasion near hear since my time in Arctic Bay where a pod of Beluga was trapped near Grise Fiord. Somewhere I saw a video of a constant parade of Beluga continually surfacing to breath, one after another. Most of them were scarred and wounded from attacks by Polar Bears who probably couldn't believe the bounty that they had discovered. These whales faced certain death as their portal to air gradually got smaller and smaller. There have been other incidents farther away in the Arctic since that time.
No one likes the thought of two hundred animals dying in one fell swoop, and most like the thought of two hundred animals suffering a slow death even less. Inuit have been hunting Narwhal here for millennia also, and continue to to this day. The choice faced up here, by the DFO and the Pond Inlet Hunters and Trappers Association is clear – allow the Narwhal to die in the ice, or to kill them and make use of them, feeding families. To me it seems like a fairly simple decision to make.
There are those who would argue that a rescue should be mounted to free the stricken whales. Keep this in mind though, the Arctic Icebreaking fleet has long left the Arctic for the season, a month or more. It is possible that one of the ships is still in the South Baffin, as there was a fuel ship there last week when I was down. But even if that is the case they wouldn't be able to leave the fuel ship in case it would be stuck in the ice, the resulting spill could cause even greater loss of wildlife. There is simply no time to get a ship in position, and rescue the whales.
No time? I had the opportunity to see a video of one of the trapped groups. Remembering a fairly orderly "parade" of the trapped Beluga in a relatively large hole in the ice, I was shocked at what I saw. The Narwhal are crowded in an ever shrinking hole in the ice, jostling for a position to take a breath, the moment one moves out of the way another takes its place. There are eleven such openings in the ice like this, each with its own group.
I wish I could properly acknowledge who took the video, but right now I don't know who the videographer is. It is possibly Brian Koonoo. Here it is.
Watch More Videos Uploaded by www.bebo.com/Koonoob
Comments
13 responses
Hi, Clare,
Off-topic: I have been infected with the 6 random things meme, and now I’m tagging you. The rules are here: http://wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2008/11/brief-interruption.html
Your turn!
Oh Goodness! Those poor animals must be frantic. I wonder how many of the smallest and weakest have already perished under the ice.
Great post. I was just about to post about this myself and I found this informative and touching at the same time.
great post and what a sad video. i wonder if they manage to spear each other and definitely survival of the fittest.
i am curious, what do the Inuit do with narwhal? The inuk hunt belugas here for maq taq and some meat for the dogs, do they use it (narwhal) for maqtaq as well?
Great post Clare. They are magnificent animals. I have observed them in migration in 2007 in Nanasivik and summer hunt in Pond in 2006.I have been reading the comments to the on line CBC article and cannot believe the ignorance of some people from the south who have little idea of reality of life in the north or do not understand how all is used and shared by the Inuit hunters. Get an icebreaker… oh yeah… that local one that they have sitting up at the deep water port at Nanasivik! Just my rant…keep up the good posts!
What a sad situation. Of course they must be culled . . . it’s the only humane thing to do. What a sad video.
Hi Susannah,
Thanks for thinking about me and the tag. I’m going demure, but only because I’ve already done the Meme (only it was 8 random) things. Here is the link to my answers
http://kiggavik.typepad.com/the_house_other_arctic_mu/2007/07/eight-not-so-ra.html
And wow, a link from Pharyngula. That’s always good for a spike in visitors.
Hi allymcke,
Hard to say, perhaps some have already perished.
Thanks Ferry Tales. I enjoyed your article as well.
Hi Aida. Being crowded like that it is possible I suppose that some are getting poked with the tusk, but in general they are very aware of that thing. Like we are aware, spatially, of our appendages.
Muktaq is the main use that Inuit have for Narwhal. The meat seems to make dogs sick, possibly because of the richness of it.
Thanks Bonnie, I really try not to read comments on news articles and think they should be banned from professional news organization’s sites. I had to stop reading them or my head would explode.
It is a sad video Liza. It gives one a frantic feeling.
Thank you for sharing this article and the video. I shared it with my Wildlife CTS class and they found both very interesting.
Thanks Jennith. Wish I could properly credit the videographer
Mother Nature is, at times seemingly, heartless…
Poor whales, it is a very interesting story at the same time a very sad one. thanks for sharing:) the video was truly arresting, but i would hav never understood it without your explanation:)
Hi Heather,
I suppose heartless is an apt description, because there is no emotion in how nature plays out, there just is. Scenes like this, and like countless lessor or greater dramas are happening in nature constantly. All part of the ebb and flow of things.
Hello paranaquephilippines, and welcome to the House. It is sad, but it is part of what happens, the Arctic is not an easy place at times.