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Near Point Barrow in Alaska, an Iñupiat hunter discovered three gray whales trapped in pack ice, which resulted in an international effort to free them.
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Point Barrow
Northernmost point of the United States in Alaska
Point Barrow or Nuvuk is a headland on the Arctic coast in the U.S. state of Alaska, 9 miles (14 km) northeast of Utqiagvik. It is the northernmost point of all the territory of the United States, at 71°23′20″N 156°28′45″W, 1,122 nautical miles south of the North Pole.Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Alaska
U.S. state
Alaska is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is considered to be the northernmost, westernmost, and easternmost state in the…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Iñupiat
Indigenous people of Alaska, U.S.
The Inupiat, also known as Alaskan Inuit, are a group of Alaska Natives whose traditional territory roughly spans northeast from Norton Sound on the Bering Sea to the northernmost part of the Canada–United States border. Their current communities include 34 villages across…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Gray whale
Baleen whale that is the sole living member of Eschrichtius
The gray whale, also known as the grey whale, is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of 14.9–15.2 m (49–50 ft), a weight of up to 41 to 45 tonnes and lives between 55 and 70 years, although one female was estimated to be…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Drift ice
Sea ice that is not attached to land
Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object. Unlike fast ice, which is "fastened" to a fixed object, drift ice is carried along by winds and sea currents, hence its name. When drift ice is driven together into a…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Operation Breakthrough
1988 US–Soviet gray whale rescue in northern Alaska
Operation Breakthrough was a US-Soviet 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…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)