Operation Breakthrough

Point Barrow Nuvuk
—  Northernmost point of the USA  —
Point Barrow Location within the state of Alaska
Coordinates: 71°23′20″N 156°28′45″W / 71.38889°N 156.47917°W / 71.38889; -156.47917
Country	United States
State	Alaska
Borough	North Slope
Time zone	Alaska (AKST) (UTC-9)
- Summer (DST)	AKDT (UTC-8)

Operation Breakthrough was an international effort to free three gray whales from pack ice in the Beaufort Sea near Point Barrow in the U.S. state of Alaska in 1988. The whales' plight generated media attention that led to the collaboration of multiple governments and organizations to free them. While the youngest whale died during the effort, the remaining two were eventually freed.

Rescue effort

On October 7, 1988, Inupiaq Eskimo hunter Roy Ahmaogak discovered three gray whales trapped in pack ice in the Beaufort Sea near Point Barrow in the U.S. state of Alaska.^[1] The hunter used a chainsaw to attempt cutting a path in the ice leading to open water. Fellow villagers helped the hunter by using water pumps to keep ice from reforming overnight.^[2] Word spread through the Eskimo community about the whales, and biologists from North Slope Borough, Alaska visited the site and realized the danger.^[1] A skycrane was purposed to create holes in the ice using a 5-ton hammer.^[3]

The first news story about the trapped whales was in Anchorage, Alaska a week later. Rescuers tried to borrow a barge from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to break the ice and clear a path, but the barge was locked in. The whales' plight gained more attention from the media as journalists called North Slope Borough and flew to the site.^[1] The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sent a team of whale biologists, and the United States Department of State requested the help of two icebreakers from the Soviet Union,^[2] the Vladimir Arseniev and the Admiral Makarov.^[4] When the whales attempted to take the exit path, a swarm of journalists caused them to swim back. Jagged ice from the rescue effort also cut the whales, bloodying the water. While the whales remained in their initial area, they were given Inuit names Putu, Siku, and Kanik and English names Bonnet, Crossbeak, and Bone, respectively. The youngest whale (Bone), nine months old, died on October 21. On October 28,^[2] the Admiral Makarov broke apart a ridge of Arctic ice that was 400 yards wide and 30 feet high. The Vladimir Arseniev cleared the icy rubble to create a large enough path for the remaining two whales to escape. The rescue effort cost US$1 million and was criticized by scientists.^[4]

Retrospect

A whale expert cited the rescue effort as a catalyst to people's changing attitudes toward whales, "Although the rescue of the gray whales trapped in the Alaskan ice involved huge expense to reverse a common and natural event, it underscored the changing attitudes of humans toward whales."^[2]

See also

• Big Miracle (2012), an upcoming romantic drama film that takes place during the rescue effort

Further reading

• Rose, Tom (1989). Freeing the Whales: How the Media Created the World's Greatest Non-Event. Carol Publishing Corporation. ISBN 978-1-55972-011-3. 

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Russell, Dick (2004). "Breakthrough Across Troubled Waters". Eye of the Whale: Epic Passage From Baja To Siberia. Island Press. pp. 463–477. ISBN 978-1-55963-088-7. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Sullivan, Robert (2002). A Whale Hunt: How a Native-American Village Did What No One Thought It Could. Scribner. pp. 79–80. ISBN 978-0-684-86434-1. 
3. ^ Busch, Robert H. (1998). Gray Whales, Wandering Giants. Orca Book Publishers. p. 112. ISBN 978-1-55143-114-7. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Dorfman, Andrea; Postman, David (November 7, 1988). "Environment: Free At Last! Bon Voyage!". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,968853,00.html. 

External links

• Unlikely Allies Rush to Free 3 Whales at The New York Times