Comments on: There Are Whales Alive Today Who Were Born Before Moby Dick Was Written

By: Jack Dunster

Jack Dunster — Sat, 11 May 2013 05:23:09 +0000

The now-known life-spans of these magnificent animals are all the more reason why they should be protected against all ‘harvesting’ – whether aboriginal hunting or ‘pseudo-scientific’ (read hunting) harvesting. Moreover, known nursery areas and feeding areas should be set aside. I want, and I am sure the majority of civilised people want, whales to share the planet with them and with their descendents. In this respect, people of all political factions and nationalities should get together and make this known to those who condone and enact the killing of such a wonderful co-inhabitant.

By: Meg

Meg — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 18:30:05 +0000

I have a whale bone my dad picked up from an Aleutian Island in 1988. I wonder how old it is, or what kind of whale it came from.
It could be hundreds of years old!

By: PegLeg

PegLeg — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 03:07:13 +0000

What are you…a bunch of grade school children?? You could at least try to appear mature.

By: Vince C

Vince C — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 15:05:24 +0000

“Bowhead whales get their name from their heads, says NOAA:”

Whoa, imagine that. And here I thought they were named “Bowhead” because their feet were shaped like bows.

By: Pete McNesbitt

Pete McNesbitt — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 02:25:15 +0000

Probably a trite statement but Melville’s book was written only 162 years ago. I know that 200 years old, is a great hook for your story but stone harpoons have been traditionally used by the Inuit. Why not try again with your story with out hyperbole.

By: Laura Miller

Laura Miller — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 15:11:37 +0000

I appreciate that the title of your article uses ‘Who,’ for they are.

By: thomouse

thomouse — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 09:31:47 +0000

interesting article, and also now curious if it is likely someone can/will catch one to try @Norm King’s methods for testing their age…

does counting the rings work with all animals?

By: paul

paul — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 09:01:39 +0000

I read elsewhere that in fact the harpoon part was dated to a pretty specific time consistent with the story.

By: Josh

Josh — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 08:34:58 +0000

The line, “Thirty four years ago, scientists counted 1,200 whales. Today there are about 14,000 of the mammals out there.” makes it sound like their population grew by 12,800 in 34 years. The source article states, “Since George and his colleagues began recording whale numbers 34 years ago, their counts have increased from 1,200 animals in 1978 to 3,400 in 2011.”

So the number of whales they’ve counted per the year noted has increased by 2,200, which is a subset of the total estimated population.

By: JW

JW — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 08:24:37 +0000

What does japan have to say about this? :[

By: Knox

Knox — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 08:09:21 +0000

@Jack Wow, calm down.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 01:31:30 +0000

@Jack You’re the one who brought up racism, and then insulted other people for making a normal article about race. Irony…

Growing up in California, going out in kayaks to see the whales migrating off the coast was always one of my favourite things to do. Miss these giants. Glad to see that their numbers are up so drastically.

By: Norm King

Norm King — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 01:53:33 +0000

Why don’t they just cut one in half and count the rings?

By: SimonK

SimonK — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 15:14:24 +0000

@Jack What on earth makes you think that Moira’s comment was in any way “racially charged”? There was something she didn’t understand in the article, and she asked about it. She certainly didn’t look “ignorant and racist”, and it’s a bit rich to criticize someone for not reading the title of the article and to then yourself repeatedly misspell Moby-Dick as “Mobi Dick”.

If I might be so bold: Not every use of color in a comment needs to be scrutinized for racism, nor should the comment be shunned because some are unnecessarily, overly sensitive.

By: Jesse

Jesse — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 08:36:00 +0000

@rose Beluga whales are white…