But the references to the bowhead whale caught my attention, so this is for archival purposes, for my granddaughters.
Quick: what are the only three species of whales that don't migrate south/north? The three Arctic whale species?
The other day I asked my older granddaughter that question and she told me. I about fell off my chair. She's nine years old and plans to be a marine biologist when she grows up. For the past year or so, she and I have been in a whale viewing/reading phase. (Just one of many hobbies she has -- more about that below in the Note to the Granddaughters below.)
We've taken a few boat cruises to see whales up close off Boston; we've seen whales off San Pedro; we've visited the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro; and, have read any number of books and articles on whales. A highlight for my wife and I just last month was visiting the New Bedford Whaling Museum and Seamen's Bethel where Herman Melville and Captain Ahab attended service.
I can't remember where I first read about the three Arctic whales. And, of course, I have no idea how my granddaughter knew, but she did. I think I might have read it in Philip Hoare's book The Whale.
The narwhal, the beluga, and the bowhead. She also said the orca which I did not consider. She was correct; I was wrong. The orca can be found in all oceans. I guess technically there are other whales that visit the Arctic, but only the narwhal, beluga, and bowhead are exclusively arctic (as far as I know), migrating east-west, and not north-south. The bowhead would die in equatorial waters: just too much blubber, measure in feet of thickness, rather than inches.
A little bit of irony. It was oil that wiped out or nearly wiped out some species of whales, but it wasn't fossil oil. It was .... whale oil. I guess if the faux environmentalists stop Norway's oil industry, Norway can always go back to whaling. Norway took the lead in decimating whales. I believe Herman Melville said the Norwegians could take more whales in a day than the the US and the Brits took in a year, but I may have misread that. A sad, sad chapter in human history.
A Note to the Granddaughters
I can't remember if I posted this or not. The other day my older granddaughter brought home a huge book on the Civil War.
It's really a reference book, and not one to read, necessarily, from cover-to-cover.
So, randomly, we picked the three-to-five page story of the battle at Gettysburg. July 1- 3, 1863. 150,000 men; 50,000 casualties; turning point in the war. Pickett's charge. This is where George Armstrong Custer made a name for himself leading the Michigan army in a most famous charge. So, that's what we read a couple of days ago.
Yesterday, my wife took me to a most delightful museum to see an exhibit of Grand Canyon photographs, just ten minutes from where our grandchildren live, and, best of all .... free.
The exhibit was n Lexington, Massachusetts, on the patriot road from Boston - Lexington - Concord: The National Heritage Museum, Scottish Rite Masonic Temple and Library Inc.
After viewing the spectacular Grand Canyon exhibit, I wandered around the temple and museum, my first visit. And there, a huge oil painting of George Armstrong Custer leading his Michigan army charge down the hill. What a coincidence. And what a way to reinforce American history. Incredible. Another outing for our granddaughters.
Of course, the younger granddaughter will prefer to stay home, curled up on the couch, enjoying a cup of hot chocolate during these cooler winter days.
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