Battling the Sperm Whale

One of the Human Planet videos on the Discovery Channel Website shows the Lembata Islanders hunting a Sperm Whale. Four to five boats are rowed out to sea in search of a sperm whale. Once the sperm whale is spotted the boats must keep their distance because the sperm whale could easily flip the small boats. Once the boats feel it is safe to make a move, that are rowed close to the whale and when it is close to the surface, the harpooner dives from the front of the boats and tires to spear the whale. Once this is done, the other boats join in. After this the whale will be pulling all five boats and the ultimate goal is for the whale to exhaust itself.

I find this entire process interesting and very daring. I understand that the sperm whale will provide a lot to the Lembata Islanders but a sperm whale is very dangerous and their process of hunting it seems very dangerous. That fact that they dive into the ocean to try to spear this whale seems very dangerous and tricky. If you miss that could be the end of you. Another aspect that I find interesting is how time consuming this process is. Once the whale has been hit by the harpoon they don’t die on the spot, they must wait for the whale to exhaust itself. I find this very interesting and it really shows how life styles differ all over the globe.