Cape Dorset Whale Hunt

After a two week hunt in Cape Dorset the local hunters finally got a Bowhead Whale.  It was caught at noon on Tuesday and was at the beach by 9:30 pm the same day.  Butchering started immediately because even with a couple of loaders and a dozer they couldn't drag the 50 ton animal to the high water mark.  Once the tide came in butchering was abandoned until low tide the next day.  The photos below are from Wednesday.

My first look at the whale.

Most of the Muktuk has been stripped of the whale.

The tale is huge and a delicacy.

View of the head.  The hairy stuff is the baleen.  The white you see inside the mouth is the tongue.

Ummm, ahhhhh.  You figure it out.

The fin is coming off.  The black part is all head.

Kids playing in the mouth.

The whale is a big event in the community.  Here is a bus unloading kids to see the whale.

My favourite shot.