Last month, a 49 foot, 50-ton bowhead whale was caught off the coast of Alaska under the renewed hunting quota for the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission. Whales have always been a prominent food source for Alaskans and the 255 whales that may be harvested by 10 Alaskan villages over the next 5 years is carefully monitored by the International Whaling Commission.
What makes this whale different from others caught, is what was found in the blubber. A 3 1/2 inch arrow shaped projectile was buried deep in a non-lethal location and has shown researchers not only that this whale was between 115 and 130 years old but that he survived his first encounter with a bomb lance. The lance exploded and probably injured the whale but not so seriously that it would prevent him from living another 100 years.
The bomb lance fragment found, lodged in a bone between the whale's neck and shoulder was most likely manufactured in New Bedford MA, a major whaling center at that time according to John Bockstoce, an adjunct curator of the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
The whale was probably shot the first time with a heavy shoulder gun around 1890, a far different era than now. If it were born in 1877 as estimated, Rutherford B Hayes was sworn into office then, federal Reconstruction troops had withdrawn from the south and Thomas Edison revealed the phonograph to the nation. Although experts say that it is rare to find a whale that has lived more than a century, the oldest have been closer to 200 years old.
A particular point of interest to Bockstoce is the notches carved into the head of the arrow used in that hunt. It is a traditional way for the Alaskan hunters to verify ownership of the whale when caught. After it is analyzed, the fragment will be displayed at the Inupiat Heritage Center in Barrow Alaska. Maybe further research will reveal if there are living relatives of the original unsuccessful hunter.
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