Whaling, Blue Whale, 19th Century

Whaling, Blue Whale, 19th Century

Great Northern Rorqual. The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal belonging to the baleen whales (Mysticeti). Once fast catcher boats and explosive harpoons became available in the latter half of the 1800s, all rorquals were catchable and, as the largest was most profitable, the Blue Whale became the primary target. Catches were made primarily on the summer feeding grounds - the North Atlantic, North Pacific and mostly, the Antarctic Ocean. Nearly 30,000 animals were taken in 1930, and the raw churning power of the largest creature in existence almost left the planet forever. By 1966 when the species received global protection only a century after it became the most hunted creature on Earth, over a third of a million Blue Whales had been slaughtered. Whaling is the hunting of whales primarily for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Whales by Robert Hamilton, 1843.

Album / Science Source / Biodiversity Heritage Library

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4200 x 2606 px | 31.3 MB

35.6 x 22.1 cm | 14.0 x 8.7 in (300 dpi)