Environment

Narwhals trapped in arctic ice

by Amy Judd | November 27, 2008 at 11:08 am

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About 400 Narwhals are trapped in ice near Baffin Island, which makes this one of the largest strandings in the Arctic.

Inuit hunters spotted the whales last week, and originally thought that 200 had been stranded, but now that number looks to have doubled. The ice had either moved or formed quickly, preventing the whales from being able to reach the open sea.

Federal Fisheries and Oceans officials gave the Inuit in Pond Inlet the go-ahead to start killing the whales last week when it appeared nothing short of an icebreaker could save the animals from eventually drowning. That harvest was supposed to have wrapped up by the weekend. The narwhals, however, keep surfacing, said several people who have been on the scene.

[ Sponsor Content ] Inuit hunters resumed harvesting the narwhals with guns and harpoons Monday after spending most of Sunday trying to make the breathing holes larger. The whales are trying to breathe through about 11 holes in the ice, most no bigger than a desk. In the panic to reach the holes, the larger adult whales have accidentally pushed young calves up onto the sea ice on at least two occasions.
"It's not a pretty sight," said Allan Hawkes, the Co-opstore manager in Pond Inlet who is selling the whale blubber to other Arctic communities and the ivory tusks to international buyers. "The one good thing about this is, nothing is getting wasted."