Elephants of the Sea essays

Elephants of the Sea essays In the mid 1700s when the slaughter of whales began there were about 20,000 southern right whales migrating to Africas coast thats 7x as many as today. There are two eras in history when whales were hunted. One was called open-boat and the other was modern whaling. Open-boat was in the days of mody dick, these were big men in small boat with nothing but the wind to help them go after the whales. It was harder for them for not every whale that they killed they could retrieve the carcass, most of the time the carcass would sink. They would use the whales bones for such things as umbrellas. The whale oil was used in products as medicines, engine lubricants and oil lamps. Inside the whales intestines there was a smell of digested squid that was called Ambergris this smell was turned into perfume. By the 1880s ambergris was selling for $15 an ounce. In 1980 Modern whaling brought with it cannon firing, steam powered boats, and cables to hold on to the dead carcass making it easier and fas ter to kill. Once a whale was ambushed and harpoon their insides were exploded. By 1930 whalers have taken 31,000 humpbacks, 14,000 blue, 14,000 fins etc. this continue for 40 yrs. until there were barely any whales. Inshore whales were basically gone while nobody could tell how many offshore were left. Till this day counts of some species are unclear. The humpback, the most recognizable whale is increasing by 12%. They return every year to breeding grounds giving birth as often as once every 24 months. While the southern right whale is increasing at a 7% rate. The sperm whale are recovering too but the chances of seeing one still remains small. IWC (International whaling Commission) stopped whaling station worldwide in 1986. Whale watching brings in big bucks to help organization. Ships patrol the edges of South Africa where whales go to breed. ...