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19th-century weapon found in whale »

Posted by: TechnologyExpert 2 years, 6 months ago

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A 50-ton bowhead whale caught off the Alaskan coast last month had a weapon fragment embedded in its neck that showed it survived a similar hunt - more than a century ago. Embedded deep under its blubber was a 3 1/2-inch arrow-shaped projectile that has given researchers insight into the whale's age, estimated between 115 and 130 years old.

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Comments: 16

Avg rating: (+12/-1 11)
ConquerorWyrm
June 12, 2007, 7:46 p.m.
I gotta stop leaving those things around...I lose them...
Avg rating: (+3/-0 3)
TechnologyExpert
June 12, 2007, 7:49 p.m.
This is really cool, as that whale had to be that old ... unless of course ConquerorWyrm met up recently ...
Avg rating: (+6/-0 6)
GregD
June 12, 2007, 10:53 p.m.
It's kind of a shame that man got him eventually. However, it is interesting that they found remnants of a previous attempt that is that old.
Avg rating: (+3/-0 3)
ameliog
June 13, 2007, 1:46 a.m.
Maybe it belonged to Captain Ahab. The time frame roughly fits.
Avg rating: (+2/-1 1)
dandt1612
June 13, 2007, 11:02 a.m.
Simply Amazing! I had no idea that whales lived that long. Such graceful creatures.
Avg rating: (+8/-0 8)
avpd85
June 13, 2007, 12:10 p.m.
I'm going to be in a really big trouble tomorrow for missing this story...
What's the big deal, anyway? The fact that the whale lived longer than expected? Ok, so that IS a huge thing. So I'm really going to get my a$$ kicked at work later.
Ahhh!!!!
Avg rating: (+1/-0 1)
capn_caveman
June 13, 2007, 12:37 p.m.
Fascinating story. It's a shame that the whale was killed. Who knows how much longer it would have lived.
Avg rating: (+4/-0 4)
nostalgia
June 13, 2007, 5:06 p.m.
In studies that could rewrite biology textbooks and establish whales as the longest-lived mammals on Earth, scientists in Alaska and at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla have estimated the ages of three bowhead whales killed by Inupiat Eskimos in northern Alaska at 135 to 172 years. At the time is was killed, a fourth bowhead whale was believed to be a stunning 211 years old, the researchers concluded.
http://www.agelessanimals.org/bowheadwhales.htm
Avg rating: (+4/-0 4)
sinophil49
June 13, 2007, 5:29 p.m.
I know that what I say may not be politically correct, but I think that whaling should be banned. Period. I know that it is a tradition of the Inuit way of life, but now that we know how intelligent these creatures are, we have to stop this primitve means of hunting. Just because it is tradition does not make it right.
Elephant feet used to be made into umbrella stands. Some people still hunt gorillas to bring home a paw or head as a trophy. Bear gall bladders and penises and rhinoceros horns are still considered aphrodisiacs. Ivory is still highly sought after in most Asian cultures as a sign of affluence. All these practices and beliefs have been around for centuries, but are slowly being suppressed. So should whaling.
Avg rating: (+1/-0 1)
aceofspades1
June 13, 2007, 5:47 p.m.
You'd think after 120 years the whale would learn how to avoid this stuff. The whale's homeland security sux worse than ours.
Avg rating: (+4/-3 1)
capn_caveman
June 13, 2007, 7:32 p.m.
I also found this link: http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF15/152...
Evidently this isn't the first time an old weapon has been found in one of these animals. One of the scientists measured the approximate age of one of these whales at 211 years old. Incredible.
Avg rating: (+5/-0 5)
Fedquip
June 13, 2007, 7:42 p.m.
Fascinating, great story
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowhead_Whale