whaling and a century-old bowhead

This Whale's Life ... It Was a Long One
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - June 13, 2007

A 50-ton bowhead whale caught off the Alaskan coast last month had a weapon fragment embedded in its neck that showed it had survived a similar hunt — more than a century ago. Embedded deep under its blubber was a 3.5-inch arrow-shaped projectile that has given researchers insight into the whale's age, estimated at 115 to 130 years. "No other finding has been this precise," said John Bockstoce, an adjunct curator of the New Bedford Whaling Museum in Massachusetts. The bomb lance fragment, lodged in a bone between the whale's neck and shoulder blade, was probably made in New Bedford, Mr. Bockstoce said. It was probably shot from a heavy shoulder gun around 1890. The 49-foot male whale died when it was shot with a similar projectile last month; the older device was found as hunters carved it with a chain saw for harvesting.


Since a child, I've always been fascinated with whaling. In fact, my whole family is - something about traveling in New England: visiting Nantucket, New Bedford, Gloucester, Providence, Newport, Mystic Seaport, the NB Whaling Museum, etc. It was impossible for us to not be fascinated with the culture, science, and people associated with the whaling industry.

I read the above article in the NY Times with awe. A bowhead whale was killed at Barrow Alaska in May 2007. BUT, a 3 1/2-inch arrow-shaped projectile was found embedded deep in its blubber which allowed scientists to age the whale. From the Philadelphia Inquirer, I learned that calculating a whale's age is difficult and scientists usually gauge age by amino acids found in the eye lenses. (Whether they look for quantity of a specific amino acid or variety of aa's, I am unclear.) It is rare to find a whale that has lived a century, though whales are thought to be able to live to 200!

In addition, I have studied mostly antebellum whaling and did not know that such explosive devices existed. Apparently, this projectile was shot from a shoulder gun (around 1890). The cylinder was filled with a time-delay fuse and explosives that would explode seconds after impact. Meant to immediately kill the whale so it cannot escape. (Apparently in the 1890's, whalers had no patience for Nantucket sleigh rides.) This whale lived another century.

Needless to say, scientifically, culturally, and historically, this story is incredible.

The New Bedford Whaling Museum released the following photos of the original implement. This is the tip of the "bomb lance fragment" which was patented in 1879.



On the left is the disassembled bomb lance fragment; at the right is a similar bomb lance that is assembled and unfired: