North Atlantic right whales : from hunted leviathan to conservation icon / David W. Laist.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Laist, David W. (David Wallace), 1949- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Northern right whale.

Northern right whale--Conservation.

Northern right whale--Pictorial works.

Genre:

Pictorial works.

Illustrated works.

Physical Description:

xviii, 432 pages ; 27 cm

Place of Publication:

Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2017.

Summary:

The fascinating story of North Atlantic right whales--from their evolutionary origin, through a thousand-year history of relentless pursuit by whalers, to ongoing efforts to rescue them from the brink of extinction. -- In the cold waters of the unforgiving North Atlantic Ocean, some of the heartiest humans of medieval days ventured out in search of whales. Through the centuries, people on both sides of the Atlantic became increasingly dependent on whale oil and other cetacean products. To meet this growing demand, whaling became ever more sophisticated and intense, leading to the collapse of what was once a seemingly inexhaustible supply of large cetaceans. Central to the whale's subsequent struggle for existence has been one species--the North Atlantic right whale. Conservationist David W. Laist now provides the first complete history of the North Atlantic right whale, from its earliest encounters with humans to its close brush with extinction, to its currently precarious yet hopeful status as a conservation icon. Favored by whalers because of their high yields of oil and superior baleen, these giants became known as "the right whale to hunt," and their numbers dwindled to a mere 100 individuals worldwide. Their dire status encouraged the adoption of a ban on hunting and a treaty that formed the International Whaling Commission. Recovery of the species, however, has proven elusive. Ship strikes and entanglement in commercial fishing gear have hampered herculean efforts to restore the population. Today, only about 500 right whales live along the US and Canadian Atlantic coasts--an improvement from the early twentieth century, but still a far cry from the thousands that once graced Atlantic waters. Laist's masterpiece features an incredible collection of photographs and artwork that give life to the fascinating history that unfolds in its pages. The result is a single volume that offers a comprehensive understanding of North Atlantic right whales, the role they played in the many cultures that hunted them, and our modern attempts to help them recover.

Contents:

1 Rescuing Nantucket 1

2 What's in a Name? 16

3 Foraging with a Smile 33

4 Evolution 55

5 The Origin of Whaling 72

6 Medieval Whaling in Northern Europe 83

7 Ghost Whalers 101

8 Basque Whaling in Terranova 120

9 The Dawn of International Whaling 149

10 Fitful Start for Colonial Whalers 165

11 Long Island Whaling 179

12 Cape Cod Whaling 196

13 Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and Cape May 214

14 Whaling from the Carolinas to Florida 228

15 Estimating Pre-exploitation Population Size 251

16 A Second Chance 266

17 A Dedicated Recovery Program 276

18 Nobody Wants to Hit a Whale 300

19 Slow Speed Ahead 317

20 Entanglement 347

21 Oh, What a Tangled Web 367

22 Ten Thousand Right Whales 406.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781421420981

1421420988

OCLC:

958371153