‘There's No Coming Back From This'
Canadian Geographic|Best of Canadian Geographic, 2019
Ten years after the release of her seminal book Sea Sick, Alanna Mitchell again plumbs the depths of the latest research on the health of the world’s oceans — and comes up gasping
Alanna Mitchell
‘There's No Coming Back From This'

WE ARE HUNTING WHALES in Antarctica and time is running out. Unlike the harpooners of old, our goal is not to butcher them for blubber. Instead, it’s to get close enough to slap satellite-linked tracking tags on them. And rather than kill them, the point is to figure out how to make sure they survive.

It’s humpbacks, among the biggest mammals on Earth, we’re looking for. After three days, the team I’m following, led by Ari Friedlaender, an ecologist who is director of research at the California Ocean Alliance, hasn’t succeeded in tagging one yet. Bundled up in heavy-duty snow pants and fire-engine-red coats, we have seen scores of them. And we’ve gotten near enough to several to shoot hollow-tipped crossbow arrows into them to retrieve wormsized samples of black skin and pink fat that will tell us whether they’re pregnant or stressed or contaminated with pollutants.

But no luck so far with the tags. And we know that we have only a few more days before storms will force us back to the ship that brought us to Antarctica — One Ocean Expeditions’ adventure expedition vessel RCGS Resolute — and back to Argentina. This is the last scientific expedition of the season. And it’s almost over.

So, this morning we’re riding low to the water in three inflatable Zodiacs, bumping through chunks of brilliant white ice in Wilhelmina Bay near the top of the Antarctic peninsula. It’s one of the whales’ favourite feeding spots. The air is crisp. The sea is the colour of a storm cloud. We are alert for any sign of action: the spurt of a blowhole, the fishy smell of their breath, a fin, a tail fluke, the sleepy top of a humped back suspended in the water.

Again and again, the boat carrying Friedlaender and the taggers tries to sneak up on a whale. Again and again, the humpbacks sense the approach and, with seconds to spare, dive beyond reach.

この記事は Canadian Geographic の Best of Canadian Geographic, 2019 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は Canadian Geographic の Best of Canadian Geographic, 2019 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

CANADIAN GEOGRAPHICのその他の記事すべて表示
ANIMAL XING
Canadian Geographic

ANIMAL XING

THIS PAST SUMMER AN AMBITIOUS WILDLIFE UNDER/OVERPASS SYSTEM BROKE GROUND IN B.C. ON A DEADLY STRETCH OF HIGHWAY JUST WEST OF THE ALBERTA BORDER. HERE’S HOW IT HAPPENED.

time-read
10+ 分  |
Canadian Geographic November/December 2021, Vol. 141, No. 6
Unearthing a giant
Canadian Geographic

Unearthing a giant

Almost 30 years ago, paleontologist Elizabeth “Betsy” Nicholls made a discovery of colossal proportions

time-read
4 分  |
Canadian Geographic November/December 2021, Vol. 141, No. 6
WE DID THIS
Canadian Geographic

WE DID THIS

AS THE IMPACTS OF GLOBAL WARMING BECOME INCREASINGLY EVIDENT, THE CONNECTIONS TO BIODIVERSITY LOSS ARE HARD TO IGNORE. CAN THIS FALL’S TWO KEY INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES POINT US TO A NATURE-POSITIVE FUTURE?

time-read
10+ 分  |
Canadian Geographic November/December 2021, Vol. 141, No. 6
The COOLEST COUNTRY
Canadian Geographic

The COOLEST COUNTRY

“The coolest country” celebrates the wonders of winter with an all-Canadian theme. The 20-page travel planner includes a bucket list from travel writer Robin Esrock, steamy spa ideas, ice fishing destinations, festival fun, northern itineraries and more!

time-read
10+ 分  |
Canadian Geographic November/December 2021, Vol. 141, No. 6
KEEPER of the SEA
Canadian Geographic

KEEPER of the SEA

FROM BEING LABELLED DEVIL’S APRON BY FRUSTRATED FISHERMEN TO BEING LAUDED AS A SUSTAINABLE FOOD SOLUTION: HOW KELP’S POTENTIAL IS BEING REALIZED, JUST AS SCIENTISTS LEARN IT’S DECLINING

time-read
10+ 分  |
Canadian Geographic November/December 2021, Vol. 141, No. 6
WILD THINGS
Canadian Geographic

WILD THINGS

WILD CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC PRESENTS THE WINNERS OF ITS ANNUAL CANADIAN WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR COMPETITION

time-read
5 分  |
Canadian Geographic November/December 2021, Vol. 141, No. 6
AN EMPTY LANDSCAPE
Canadian Geographic

AN EMPTY LANDSCAPE

AFTER MORE THAN A MILLION YEARS ON EARTH, CARIBOU ARE UNDER THREAT OF GLOBAL EXTINCTION. THE PRECIPITOUS DECLINE OF THE ONCE MIGHTY HERDS IS A TRAGEDY THAT IS HARD TO WATCH — AND EVEN HARDER TO REVERSE.

time-read
10+ 分  |
September/October 2021
NORTHERN EXPOSURE
Canadian Geographic

NORTHERN EXPOSURE

BON INTO A CARIBOU-HUNTING CREE FAMILY IN NORTHERN MANITOBA, ACCLAIMED PLAYWRIGHT AND NOVELIST. TOMSON HIGHWAYS PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE MAGICAL WORLD OF HIS CHILDHOOD IN PERMANENT ASTONISHMENT

time-read
5 分  |
September/October 2021
INTO THE ARCTIC
Canadian Geographic

INTO THE ARCTIC

CANADIAN PAINTER AND FILMMAKER CORY TRÉPANIER EXPLORES THE SUBLIME AND RAPIDLY CHANGING CANADIAN ARCTIC

time-read
4 分  |
September/October 2021
Under the ice
Canadian Geographic

Under the ice

Until the last decade, we knew little about what lay beneath the Arctic ice. Now scientists and explorers are shedding light on this vanishing world.

time-read
3 分  |
September/October 2021