The Troubling
Days of Cook Inlets Whales
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Beluga Days
by Nancy Lord
Who must have this book: Anyone who is interested
in the plight of the Cook inlet Beluga Whales.
Who should have this book: Any nature lover
or person interested in endangered species.
ISBN: 1582431515
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I
have spent years trying to catch a glimpse of Cook Inlet Beluga’s.
Every flight into and out of Anchorage, I scanned the muddy water
below to try to make out the arching backs of a beluga pod. Whenever
I drove along Turnagain, I tried to pore through the whitecaps to
find an arching back with no luck. Turns out I should have made a
much harder effort on my first trips during the mid 1990’s.
Now the numbers continue to drop to barely 200 despite protections.
Nancy Lord records her efforts to make sense of the disappearance
of the whales that had been long time neighbors at her fish camp.
The story she found turned out to be a complicated mix of causes,
tragedies, and ironies.
The initial cause of the decline was ironically subsistence hunting
from Native Alaskans living in the Anchorage area. As Inuit and Yupiks
migrated to Anchorage, cultural limits on over-exploiting natural
resources were lost. There was no true sense of ownership of oversight
of the harvest. Through the late 80’s and 90’s, the Cook
Inlet Beluga’s were over exploited.
It seemed easy enough to simply blame native over-hunting for the
destruction of the Beluga stocks but the story is not that clear.
Nancy quickly finds a quagmire of interests all competing over the
belugas. Beurocrats, politicians, native rights advocates, the oil
industry, ecotourist, and animal rights groups all have brought their
own agendas to this continuing tragedy and for the most part have
brought gridlock.
Nancy does a good job of reporting on each viewpoint with respect
and balance. Also she interlaces her own experience as she unravels
the history and mysteries of the Cook Inlet Belugas. I highly recommend
this book to anyone who wants to know the whole story behind.
Overview
Nancy takes you along with her on her journey to find out what is
happening to the whales. She interviews her neighbors, scientists,
subsistence hunters, and anyone else who can help unravel the mystery
of why the whales are missing. Her travels take her from Alaska to
Newfoundland to Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium to the to find the
answers she is looking for.
One of the most fascinating parts of the book is the history of exploitation
of the Cook Inlet’s belugas. For several years there was a Beluga
Hunting Club in Kenai Alaska and a beluga barbecue during Kenai’s
Beluga Days. Also there was a couple attempts at commercial Beluga
harvesting. Nancy spends a lot of time describing pictures of both
of these which just made me want illustrations, or a companion book
of images.
All in all, this is a very worthwhile book, although it has made me
feel even worse for having missed seeing belugas years ago. I’ll
still keep an eye on the water though.
Author
Nancy Lord is a long time resident of Homer Alaska,
except during fishing season when she can be found at her fish camp
on the west side of the Cook Inlet. Her books include, Beluga Days,
Green Alaska, Survival, and The Man Who Swam with Beavers.
Other books by the Author
